Digimon Forerunner
by Timberwolf0
Summary: Joshua Ward is a shy American teenager happily living his life in obscurity. One day a mysterious force captures him promising unrivaled power if he agrees to serve it. Seeing no other option he accepts but awaits him in the Digital World?
1. Chapter 1

Digimon: Forerunner

Chapter 1: Always a choice

"Josh! Mom says to come downstairs," Yelled an annoyingly familiar female voice.

"I know! I heard her! I'm coming!" an annoyed male voice called back.

Joshua Lawson threw on his favorite blue T-shirt and blue jeans, grabbed his weighty backpack and made his way downstairs to meet his mom and little sister. Like always his mother was dressed in her flight attendants uniform and his little sister waiting at the table with a goofy grin on her face.

"Joshua you know I don't have time to take you and Rachael to school so you'd better hurry up or you'll be late!" His mother, Karen, admonished.

"Yeah Josh hop to it! I don't want to be late because of you!"

"I know! I got all my stuff ready'" he answered. Joshua made his way past the table, gave his mom a quick hug then made his way toward the door.

"Hey wait for me!" Rachael cried.

"Hurry up or I'm leaving you behind!" Joshua called back.

"Oh Joshy! Remember I won't be home tonight so I need you to take care of Rachael and lock down the house when you get home," Their mother called out.

Joshua made his way out the door in a flourish. "Got It! Bye!"

"Wait!" pleaded Rachael as she followed him out the door. "Don't you dare leave me!"

The moist morning air greeted the two as they ran down the street toward the MARTA station. As usual people flowed into the front gate no doubt going to work or going to beg for money from the people going to work. Joshua and Rachael swiped their rail passes at the turn stiles and made their way down the stairs to wait for the train to arrive. The train terminal was simple, two tracks on both sides, a couple of benches and of course a crowd of people but this morning's crowd was quite a bit larger than normal.

"Attention passengers," the PA system rang out. "Due to damage of one of our rail lines our trains are running behind schedule. Please wait while the next available train arrives at the terminal. We are sorry for the inconvenience".

"They were talking about that on the news this morning!" said Rachael. "They said that a station downtown had its tracks torn up or something so none of trains can get through."

"Really?" Joshua asked. "Did they say how it happened?"

She shrugged. "All they said was that it happened last night and the trains are backed up because of it."

"Well if we're late at least we have an excuse." Joshua checked his cell phone for the time: 8:30, which meant he only had half an hour to get to school before the morning bell rang. He was about to put his phone back in his pants pocket when the vibrations and familiar South Park theme alerted him to an incoming call. He pressed the answer key without looking at the phone's screen.

"Must be mom," he reasoned. He leaned against one of the concrete beams in the terminal and placed his phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Jo…I…off-…deal… -wer," responded the garbled yet unmistakably deep voice on the other end.

"What?" Joshua yelled back into the receiver. "I can barely understand you! Who is this?"

But his question was met with only static that flooded his ears and then silence as the call was dropped.

"Who were you yelling at?" asked Rachael.

"I honestly don't know," he answered with a look of confusion clear on his face. "It sure wasn't mom though."

"You sure?"

"Rachael, unless mom is making phone calls through a synthesizer and in a tunnel I don't think it was her."

"It'd be just like her to check up on me by calling you though. I don't need someone watching me all the time. Especially not you."

"Rachael I don't want to go through this with you again,".

Rachael crossed her arms and sighed. "Whatever you say".

Joshua rolled his eyes and retook his position against the pillar. Luckily for them the train arrived to the delight of the impatient customers. Joshua took a moment to appreciate the subtle Doppler Effect as it passed by. Eventually the train came to a stop and the doors opened. Immediately everyone at the terminal swarmed into the passenger cars.

"Finally!," the siblings said in unison as they boarded the train and left the outside world in a blur of motion.

Joshua stared aimlessly out the window in his window seat like he always did. Mostly he just wanted to spend time with his own thoughts or catch up on some sorely missed sleep. Out of curiosity he tore his eyes away from the window and glanced at the seats ahead of him. He spotted his sister, in an aisle seat, chatting with a few girls that looked to be about her age or younger. By chance she noticed him staring at her and her new friends. He made an attempt to wave at her but she ignored him and turned away. She was always like that, she made friends easily and she was a natural at talking to people even if they were complete strangers. As a result many of the passengers treated her as an extra feature on the train. She was the center of attention and his opposite in almost every way and for that reason his sister and he didn't always see eye to eye. Joshua preferred quiet moments of solitude, not all the time, but when the opportunity arose he just found himself absorbed in some kind of book or computer screen. For him the world was something to study and understand. There was just so much to learn and so little time to do it. Or maybe he was just fooling himself and just wanted to hide from the world behind his thoughts either way it made for a rather uneventful train ride. Eventually the train came upon a tunnel and the world outside disappeared behind a wall of darkness.

"Good" Joshua thought to himself. "Makes it easier to think"

He closed his eyes and let the images and ideas buzzing his head free. Whenever he did this it almost felt like he was dreaming. He was relaxed, absorbed in his own little world and oblivious to anything else. His meditation ended harshly though as he felt the intruding vibrations of his cell phone in his pocket. He fished it out before it could finish one rendition of his favorite ringtone and answered it. Once again static crackled in his ears.

"Hello?" he said.

"Co….d" answered the static. He could barely make out the voice on the other end.

"Hello!" he said again this time louder. "Look I don't know who this is but you probably have the wrong number!"

The static answered him by getting louder but before he could end the call a voice, much louder and clearer, erupted from his cell.

"COWARD!"

Joshua fumbled with his phone at the last outburst. The voice was definitely a man's but it had a strange, inhuman quality to it. It was deep and threatening and the static that permeated the background only made it worse.

"Who is this?" he asked while trying to hide the unease in his voice.

"You will not hang up. You are alone. You will not hang up. We will talk." The distorted voice answered back.

"What the hell is this?" he asked automatically. "If you're trying to threaten me I could report this number to the police and have them use a filter on whatever voice altering program you're using to find you."

To his surprise the voice chuckled. "You are making empty threats. No one will come. You will do as I say".

Joshua tightened his grip on his phone. "Really? Why's that?"

"You are alone."

"No I'm not I'm…" Joshua stopped himself in mid-sentence as he noticed for the first time how quiet the train was. Where before there where dozens of people crammed into seats or standing up next to the poles making all kinds of noises now there was no one. He stood up and looked around the car but he saw nothing but rows of empty of seats.

"Did I miss my stop? He asked himself. "How long was I asleep?"

Joshua looked outside of the train car through the windows but all he saw was the same uniform darkness he saw before the crazy computer generated voice on the phone called him. This confused him. His sister and he had been riding the train for years and the route they took to get to school was always the same. The tunnel they pass through halfway down the line is long enough to block out outside light for maybe seven seconds, ten at the most. He looked at his phone's screen, the call was lasting three minutes and counting. How could the train have not left the tunnel by now? It was definitely moving, he could hear the swaying of the metal and plastic and feel the train as it moved along the track, so what was going on?

A terrifying thought him at that moment. He walked over to the end of the car and looked through the window hoping to see some kind of life but instead only the identical layout of the adjoining car greeted him.

"Where is everyone?" he asked the voice.

"They have been removed," answered the voice flatly. "Their presence is undesirable."

"Rachael! Rachael where are you?" he called out. "Anyone? Answer me!"

"You are wasting your time," the voice admonished. "She cannot here you were she is."

Joshua ground his teeth together in anger. Whoever was on the phone was holding Rachael and the rest of the passengers hostage somehow. "What did you to them? Why is this train empty? WHERE IS MY SISTER? TELL ME NOW!"

"YOU DO NOT MAKE DEMANDS OF ME HUMAN!"

The awful scream of his words rang in his ears. Suddenly the entire train seemed to lurch to his right. He lost his balance and hit the floor sending his phone flying from his hands and in the process causing it to slide underneath the seats. He pushed himself off the floor and headed toward the doors.

"Screw this! There has to be a way out of here!"

He pulled on the side doors and with all the strength his frightened body could muster. He doubted he could actually pry them open while the train was moving but he had to try. He strained himself until he could feel his arms pulling from his sockets then regrettably let go.

"Ok, then what about the other cars?"

He raced toward the front of his car where the door separating him from the others was. He pulled on it, kicked it, and even tackled it but he accomplished nothing but getting sore muscles.

"No…no, no, no NO! This can't be happening!" he yelled. He could feel warm tears flowing from his eyes as the fear set in. He was trapped.

"This has to be dream. All of this is impossible! It just can't happen". He sank to the floor and covered his head in his arms.

"Why can't I wake up?"

He laid there for what seemed like hours wishing he was back at home or at school or anywhere but here. Then he thought about Rachael and his heart sank even lower. Where was she? That thing on the phone said it had "removed" her along with the rest of the passengers. What did he mean by that? Did he take her off the train or had he…

"No, I can't think like that, I have to calm down, assess the situation."

He turned his eyes toward the windows. The unending darkness outside crushed any hopes that he was still on the normal rail line, all the exits were shut tight which meant that the thing on the phone had taken everyone off the train sometime after he fell asleep. He had no idea how the Voice had managed to get the train into wherever it was now or why he had bothered to keep some unimportant teenager in a train car when he could've just taken him like everyone else and demanded money or whatever it was that he wanted.

"So now what?" he asked himself. He looked toward his cell phone which was still under the seat from the fall. He didn't want to admit it but if he had any chance of making it out of here and finding his sister he had to get back on the phone. It was his only connection to the outside world. He jerked his head up as the obvious came to him.

"That's it!" Joshua scrambled over to his phone and looked at the screen. The call from The Voice was still active but what filled him with hope was the row of white bars in the upper right hand corner of his screen. He still had reception! He considered his options. He could hang up now and call the police but the Voice might get angry and do something more drastic to get his attention. Then there was the problem of explaining the situation.

"I'm being held captive by a mysterious "man" on a train that's trapped in a never ending dark tunnel and who has also managed make dozens of people vanish except for me."

It sounded ridiculous but he figured that if he could just tell them he was being held captive. That should be enough to get them here. The next problem was telling them exactly where "here" was. The train had been traveling nonstop through this darkness, he could be anywhere. He guessed that they could track his cell phone signal and find him but then…

"Whatever it is you're planning it is pointless."

Joshua's heart skipped a beat as the low, mechanical voice rumbled through his phone.

"If you are finished admiring the accommodations I suggest we continue our conversation."

How had he known that he was near his phone? It must have been half an hour since he dropped it and he hadn't heard anything from him the entire time so that meant…

"You're watching me. You've been watching me the entire time!" he accused.

Joshua swore he could hear something like a chuckle from the other end. "This entire area is under my control. All possibility of escape or rescue have been accounted for and blocked. You have no choice but to comply".

The trapped boy scanned his eyes across the train car looking for some kind of camera but all he saw were the same empty seats and dark windows he had always seen since this whole thing began. Finally he spoke.

"What do you want?" he asked sheepishly.

"I'm here for you Joshua Lawson," the Voice answered.

"You know my name," he stated.

"I know many things about you. It is for that reason why I have called this meeting of ours. In short I'm here to collect you," he said in a tone that left no doubt in his seriousness.

Joshua cocked his eyebrow in disbelief. "You want to recruit me? Why? What could I possibly have that you want?"

"Look out the window," the Voice commanded.

Joshua did what he was told then gasped in shock. The outside was still as dark as ever but if he looked below him he saw an all too familiar blue orb floating through it. It was the Earth, as impossible as it was the train had somehow gotten into low-earth orbit, years of reading about space shuttle missions and watching science fiction movies made it abundantly clear. He could scarcely count how many physical laws were being broken with this display and yet there it was.

"The world you see before you is filled with billions of your kind and yet only the slimmest fraction possesses what I require. You, Joshua Lawson, are one such specimen; with you I will accomplish miracles undreamt of in that small head of yours. Your participation would not go unrewarded; I detect in you a great desire for knowledge, an insatiable curiosity that those around you struggle to understand. You desire a world where understanding is at your fingertips, bond with me and you will have this wish granted a thousand-fold. You will have no equal, you will look down on the rest of humanity as a human does an insect."

Joshua head whirled at the Voice's generous offer. Everything he said he was true. Knowledge was power after all, and if there was one thing Joshua enjoyed above all else was learning things and proving to other' s that he knew them. When he was younger he liked to think of himself as a genius but that illusion faded as he got older and realized just how far away from that title he actually was. Now this thing had put him in an inescapable cage and held irresistible bait outside of its bars.

"How can I trust you? If I join you what will happen to Rachael and the others?" He asked.

"You misunderstand," said the Voice. "You do not have an option in the matter. I hold complete dominance over your future. Any resistance will be met with dire consequences."

Joshua was surprised at this. I can resist? Even when he has me locked up in a place I couldn't possibly escape from?

"Your family for example," he continued. "You are already aware that I have your sister. If you reject me I will kill her and the other passengers and return you and this train to its proper station".

Joshua's hear sank into his stomach at the cold, horrible voice's threat. If he was telling the truth it meant that he had no choice but to accept. He shuddered to think of what would happen if he came home without Rachael, his mother would never forgive him and neither would he.

"I….accept," He said with a voice barely above a whisper.

"Joshua your voice seems to have failed you. Please enunciate."

"I ACCEPT! Just please let my sister go!" He screamed. Warm tears stung his eyes and fell to the floor. His breaths came in gasps as the fear he been fighting to keep down welled up inside him and burst forth like a geyser.

"Very well," he answered. "As I stated before you have something very valuable to me sleeping inside you but your current psychological and emotional condition is unsuitable for my plans. Modification is necessary. Stand perfectly and still and relax your muscles, this will only last a short duration. Once it is finished I will return your sister to the station. "

Joshua closed his eyes and summoned what little willpower he had left to calm himself. He failed miserably and began shaking like a leaf in the wind. Only one other time in his life had he felt so helpless but at least this time he didn't feel quite as lonely. As the painful memories resurfaced in his mind he felt a slight tingling in his extremities that started to slowly work their way up his body. As the tingling intensified to a painful vibration, his entire body shook as if it were a tuning fork being struck over and over again on piece of metal. Slowly his vision faded and he felt his ringing body fall to the floor. He had no hope of getting up again as his muscles seized and contracted and his veins sent waves of pain through his body. Then just as suddenly as it started the vibrations stopped and in their place was a peculiar hollow feeling. He still couldn't move but now he could at least think in piece. It was funny; it almost felt like he was sinking into the floor. He knew he'd probably never see his mom or his sister again but at least they could go on living.

"Welcome to the digital world," were the words that formed in his mind as he sank beyond the veil.

Author's notes

Well this is my first story dealing with digimon that I've submitted to the site. The idea has been

Bouncing around in my head for ages and needed an outlet. I haven't been on the site very long it all and it shows but I'm more than willing to learn from whatever you guys have to throw at me. So what do you think? Any constructive criticism would be much appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to the Digital World

Digimon Forerunner

Chapter 2: Welcome to the Digital World

When Joshua Lawson regained consciousness he noticed immediately the change in the atmosphere. Wherever he was now was damper and cooler than the train car had been. For the second time he was left to wonder where he was though at least this time he knew who had taken him here.

The pain and numbness that he had felt had completely disappeared and the rest of body seemed fine except for a slight tickling sensation around his left forearm. He thought he might be brushing up against some soft plant at first but then he noticed that the feeling felt more like something was breathing him in…smelling him and that feeling was moving further up his arm. His remained completely still despite the fear that was welling up inside him. Once again he was at the mercy of an enemy but this time it was of a more familiar one.

The animal sniffing him reached the end of his arm and then smelled his hands. He could feel the wetness of its nose as it dragged itself across his skin. He though it had to be a bear or maybe a canine of some sort judging by its behavior and the cool, damp feeling of the air meant that he was in some kind of cave. That thought sent a shiver down his spine despite his attempt to suppress it. He was in this thing's den and until he could convince it that he was dead he couldn't have a chance to escape.

Once the creature was finished with his hands he moved closer towards his head. Joshua could hear the sound its paws hitting the hard ground. Now that he thought about it the animal probably wasn't very large considering how light its paws sounded as it moved. If it wasn't a bear maybe it was a young wolf or coyote. As he was contemplating the identity of his guest said guest rubbed its fur in his face and licked it. Immediately he felt the inescapably ticklish feeling of a dog's tongue attack his senses. His body flinched at the contact and the façade of death he had painstakingly created to fool this creature crumbled. Convinced that even the least intelligent animal would have seen through the ruse by now he opened his eyes to get a look at what his attacker truly was. What he saw shocked him.

"A puppy," he said weakly.

It was the first word he had uttered since arriving here. Standing right in front his face was a small white and unusually round puppy, one that looked particularly happy that he had acknowledged it.

"A puppy," he repeated. He then scooped the little white fur ball into his arms and hugged it. He couldn't help himself, it was the first living thing he had seen since his time on the train and it wasn't a monster or some creepy voice over the phone, it was a puppy. He could feel tears of joy on his cheeks as he realized that if a puppy was here it likely meant that it had an owner and maybe whoever that was could help him find his way back home. At the darker corners of his mind he considered the possibility that this could be another trap by the Voice but he pushed those thoughts aside and continued hugging it to make sure it was real.

After a good minute of close contact he finally pulled away and held his new friend out in front of him with his arms. The puppy looked a little winded as it its heavier breathing clearly showed but it quickly caught its breath and looked straight at him. It was weird, it was as if the small, fluffy creature was about to introduce himself.

"Hi there! My name's Xiaomon. Would you like to be my friend?" said the small fluffy creature.

Joshua did not move a muscle. For his part he simply stared at the little dog and blinked once. The white puppy blinked back and turned its head in confusion.

"What's wrong?" It asked.

Joshua's face changed to one of complete indifference and set the puppy on the ground. He then stood up looked around the cave.

The "talking" puppy followed close at his heels.

"What are we looking for?" it asked innocently.

"I thought we had a deal!" Joshua yelled. "You said I was supposed to join you and I agreed so what's the point of this!" he pointed to the creature that called itself Xiaomon.

"Umm…who are you talking to?" asked Xiaomon clearly confused at his new friend's outburst.

Joshua didn't respond. Instead he reached into his pockets and pulled out his cell phone. He briefly wondered how he had gotten his phone back since he remembered leaving back on the train but there were more important mysteries to solve. The time was 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, August 21, he had no missed calls or messages and no reception.

"You've got to be kidding me! I've been unconscious for a day and a half!" He shrieked.

"You play strange games new friend. Can I play too! You said I could eat what I wanted? I want the forty steaks you promised me!" said Xiaomon

This time it was Joshua's turn to look confused. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just playing the game with you, my new friend," he answered innocently.

"What kind of a dog talks and yells random things into the air? Joshua asked.

"I was just asking the cave questions like you were," he answered. "by the way, what's a dog?"

"A dog is…," Joshua began to answer. "Never mind, If you're not a dog then what are you?"

"I'm a digimon," he answered.

"What's that?"

"Well…I don't know really know but we're really fun!"

"You don't know what you are?"

"Well I'm Xiaomon and Xiaomon is a digimon and digimon are fun and…"

"Never mind," said Joshua. "Do you know what I am?" Joshua pointed to himself for effect.

Xiaomon turned his pill shaped body to the side. "You're…not a digimon?"

"No," Joshua answered. "I'm a human."

"What's that?" asked the little white "Digimon"

"It would take too long to explain; besides I need to focus on getting back home. Where are we?"

"Where in a cave in the forest," Xiaomon answered.

"I mean is there a city or a town near here?,"

"What are those? Sorry but I've never been outside of the forest before,"

Joshua breathed a sigh before continuing. "Never mind I'll explain on the way out of here."

As Joshua and Xiaomon made their way out of the cave the forest came into view. Immediately the fact that they weren't anywhere close to home was apparent. The forest ahead looked similar to a pine forest one might see in the northern latitudes but the trees themselves were speckled with various colors on top of the dark green pine leaves. The air was warm, too warm he realized, and wet. Trees like this should be growing in colder climates yet it felt…subtropical. It felt almost like he was back in Atlanta.

"What are you doing?" asked Xiaomon.

"Thinking," Joshua answered.

"Do you do that a lot?," he asked. "I don't think my old friends thought much at all."

Joshua raised an eyebrow. "You're old friends?"

"Sure! They're over there." Xiaomon ran down to where the rocky ground of the cave gave way to the green grass of the forest. Joshua followed behind the little white fur ball until he came to a stop in front of three large rocks that jutted up from the ground.

"Here they are!" Xiaomon said proudly.

Joshua looked around but saw nothing but the strange landscape ahead of him. "Who're you talking to?" he asked.

"Them!" Xiaomon answered. He inched closer to the three stones jutting up from the ground.

"The rocks?" Joshua asked.

"Yeah."

Joshua walked over to Xiaomon's "friends" and ran his hand over them. As he expected they were hard, rough and no different from any rocks back home.

"Well they're not talking," he stated. "So unless they just don't want to talk to me I think you should find some new friends".

"Why?"

"Because rocks are inanimate objects incapable of reciprocating interactions from animate beings." Joshua answered astutely.

The poor thing turned his head in confusion in that same undeniably cute way of his.

"I mean the rocks won't ever talk or play with you," he explained. "Why did you call them your friends in the first place?"

"'cause they protected me from the scary lights that came out of the cave," he explained.

"Lights?"

"Yeah, when the lights came I hid behind the rocks until they went away then I promised the rocks I would protect them so I ran into the cave to fight the lights but all I found was you."

Joshua's eyes widened. "Xiaomon, did you see anyone else in the cave with me?

He shook his head. "No, only you were there and I didn't smell anyone else. Hey! What if your friend you were yelling at earlier is invisible? Wouldn't that be neat?"

"No, and I wasn't talking to myself I was trying to find the one whose responsible for sending me here. Joshua let out a sigh and scratched his head "Well there's no use worrying about it now". He looked up at the sky. It was a warm, clear day promising uneventful weather and high visibility, perfect for exploring. "Let's keep going into the forest, if we have to we'll find food while looking for a town."

Joshua continued on his way into the wilderness with Xiaomon close at his heels. The shade from the tall trees gave them a slight reprieve from the sun's heat as they navigated past the forest's foliage which kept getting stranger the farther they traveled. Some of the tall, colorful pine trees they had seen had given way to much shorter and stouter versions that sported red, yellow or even orange needle-like leaves and the grass had grown taller and curled in on itself creating tight spirals that wafted gently in the breeze. Eventually they came upon a small circular clearing surrounded by very tall and very white pine trees.

"Let's stop here for a while," Joshua suggested.

"Why? asked Xiaomon.

Joshua looked down at his companion. He was still an energetic, fluffy ball of energy despite the distance and terrain they had covered.

"We humans need to rest sometimes. Besides we'll need to head back soon before nightfall."

"Do all humans get tired so easily?"

"Just the nerdy ones" Joshua answered. He didn't expect the little digimon to understand what that meant but that didn't matter. Hopefully, he'd find his way out of wherever he was and find his way home. Walking through a strange tropical yet temperate forest with a talking dog was a neat little trick the Voice pulled off but he was getting tired of it quickly. He pulled out his cellphone and checked the time; the digital display read 7:30 p.m. which confused him. He looked up in the clear, wholly blue sky then shielded his eyes so he could be sure that that bright, yellow sun in the sky was still directly overhead. He checked his phone again to be sure but it still read 7:30.

"That's weird. The phone's clock must be wrong". As Joshua fiddled with his phone his vision suddenly went dark as the sunlight vanished overhead.

"Wait, what just…," He began but as he looked up to find whatever it was that was blocking the light he received the second greatest shock of his life. The sun had disappeared as well as the flawlessly blue sky and its place floated three orbs he could only assume were moons. The closest one looked similar to the Earth's moon only it shined a brighter silvery color that illuminated the night sky like a glittering diamond, the second was much less bright and shone a beautiful blue color and the last which seemed the furthest due to its relative size in the sky was a red moon that glowed in the night like a tiny red eye. The rest of the sky was covered in a blanket of stars.

Joshua's mouth hung open at what he had just seen.

"What's wrong human-friend?" Xiaomon asked innocently.

"What the hell just happened?" Joshua shrieked.

"It's night time now," he answered.

"But it can't be, this is impossible! None of this makes sense! Joshua cried.

"Why not?"

"Why not?" Joshua glared at the small creature that was calling him his friend. His face shifted through confusion, fear then anger.

"This is wrong! All of it!" Joshua yelled. He pointed to the alien sky and then to the forest around them.

"The sky is wrong! The stars are wrong! The trees are wrong! You are wrong!" he yelled.

"but I don't understand," said Xiaomon. "It's always been like this."

"No! No,no,no,no! Day doesn't become night in an instant! The Earth doesn't have three moons! The stars are in all the wrong places! And dogs don't talk!"

Joshua turned away from Xiaomon and stalked off into the forest.

"Wait for me!" Xiaomon called after him.

Joshua stopped then turned back toward the little digimon. It was obvious He had wanted to comfort him somehow but he wasn't having any of it.

"We aren't going anywhere! I don't know what you want or why you're sticking so close to me but it ends here!" he yelled. He had to fight to keep his feelings from affecting his voice.

"But aren't we friends?" Xiaomon asked. "Friends are supposed to protect each other".

Joshua's eyes stung from his tears as Xiaomon's words brought up a particularly painful memory.

"I don't have friends! I don't need friends! I just want to go home!" he screamed. His voice seemed to fill as the echoes reverberated through the forest.

"I just want to go home!" his echo repeated.

"I just want to go home!"

"….want to go home!"

"I want to go home too!"

"Me too!"

"Yeah, sounds like fun if everyone there is as weak as these two!"

Joshua and Xiaomon snapped their heads up at the voices but the darkness of night shielded whatever had imitated the lost boy's voice from their eyes.

"Who's there?" shouted Joshua. It sounded like the voices were coming from the trees above them.

Mocking laughter answered him. "Heh, heh, heh, who's there? No one, everyone, someone!"

Xiaomon stepped in front of Joshua and growled angrily. "Stay back human-friend! They're digimon! I can smell'em!"

"Digimon? Now that's rude we're not just digimon!" said one of the voices from the trees. A rustling sound followed by a small gust of air escaped from the trees above and a shadow swooped down on Joshua and Xiaomon. With his small size and quicker reflexes Xiaomon was able to dodge the attack but Joshua reacted too late and his left shoulder was cut by what felt like a curved blade.

Joshua gasped in pain as he felt the cut on his shoulder. "What do you want from us?"

"What do you want from us?" repeated another one of the voices. This time it imitated his voice perfectly then broke out in a fit of high-pitched laughter.

Suddenly one of the shadows descended from the trees and hovered in mid-air. In the light of the silver moon Joshua could finally make out their assailants' form. The first thing that monster reminded Joshua of was a bat, It had long, diamond-shaped ears, leathery wings and a small, furry body. The strange thing about it was that in lieu of limbs this thing seemed to have blades for feet, it even sported a tail which held another curved blade at the tip. It was as if some mad man had crossed a vampire bat with a scythe.

As he stared at the strange bat monster two more creatures just like it swooped down and joined their comrade hovering in mid-air.

"I'm Pipismon!" said the one in middle.

"So am I!" said the one on the right.

"Me too!" said the one on the left.

"And you two look like easy pickings, so if you don't mind could you just stand there while we load your data?" came a voice from behind Joshua and Xiaomon. Immediately Joshua knew it had to be the one who had cut him earlier. That meant that there were at least four of them.

"This is going to be so cool!" shouted the one in the middle. "Wait 'till I tell everyone I killed a partner digimon!"


	3. Chapter 3: They blossom at night

Digimon Forerunner

Chapter 3: They blossom at Night

Joshua stood there dumbfounded as he once again encountered something that shattered his belief in a rational world. He was surrounded by talking bats with no one there to help him but a talking puppy.

"What do you want from me? Joshua asked timidly.

"We want your partner's data of course!" screeched the scythe-bat in front.

"The chance to load the data of a partner digimon is rare indeed," said a voice from behind Joshua and Xiaomon. "So, imagine how lucky we must be to find a human and his little pet out here all alone,"

Joshua turned and tried to find where the voice had come from but the darkness made that next to impossible. "Wait, you know what I am!" he asked. In truth he just wanted to run as far away from these creatures as possible but he was surrounded and he doubted that he could outrun them.

"Of course we do! You came from the human world then became tamer to that pathetic sack of fur over there," answered the Pipismon on the right.

"You know if you're looking for a partner digimon you could always choose me instead," offered the one on the left. "You'll never survive in this world with a digimon as weak as that!"

"And just what world is this?" Joshua asked.

"The digital world of course!" the one in the front replied.

"You haven't been in this world very long have you?" asked the voice from the darkness.

Joshua and Xiaomon heard the sound of leathery wings flapping and the digimon that had hidden itself in the shadows appeared in front of them. Even in the dark it was obvious that this was one was bigger than the others and probably the strongest given the deference the others were showing it.

"We could just destroy your partner right now but then you wouldn't learn anything about this world or its rules so let's try this instead. I'll give you two a handicap, we'll let you run away from us and we won't chase after you until ten seconds have passed but once those ten seconds are over we'll hunt you down. Do you understand?" the largest one said.

"Hey, no fair! You know you'll get to them first" complained the one on the left.

The head Pipismon turned its head toward the others. "Fine, since I'm clearly the strongest one here I guess I should give you three a handicap as well. How about I give you all a fifteen second head- start after the human's ten seconds are up? It offered.

The other three looked at each other and then nodded in agreement.

"Alright so let's start the countdown," declared the largest one. "Three, two…."

Joshua took that moment to sprint into the forest as fast as legs could take him.

"Human-friend, wait for me!" cried Xiaomon as he ran after him.

The lost boy's mind was racing even faster than his legs. The fact that they had given him a chance to escape meant that they were confident that they could catch him or Xiaomon anytime they chose. There was also a very good chance that they knew the terrain better than either he or his "partner" ever did. Combined that with the fact they could fly, had far better visibility and hearing and outnumbered them four to two and the outcome was painfully obvious. The only idea that came to him was to either find a clearing like the one he and Xiaomon had found earlier or find an end to the forest which considering the fact he had no idea where he was going was unlikely.

"Human-friend we're we going?" asked Xiaomon. From the sound of his voice it seemed like he had fallen behind but was still trying doggedly to catch up with him.

"Here we come!" yelled a high-pitched voice. Joshua couldn't help but be surprised. Were they really that fast or was he just slow? They'd run through tall grasses and dodged trees as they made their way into the forest but his pursuers had no such disadvantage.

"I call the first attack!" declared one of the Pipismon. "Crazy Sonic Blaster!"

Suddenly an ear-splitting screech assaulted Joshua's ears. He tried blocking the sound out by covering them but the noise just seemed to rattle his entire body, even his eyes were shaking in their sockets.

"My turn! My turn! Crazy Sonic Blaster!" cried another Pipismon as it launched its attack.

Once again the high-pitched noise stung his ears. The pain was becoming unbearable and it was almost impossible to see where he was going due to the fact he was now running with his eyes closed. Inevitably he felt his escape come to an abrupt halt as he slammed into a tree and fell on his back.

"Have to…get away," he said to himself weakly. His head was spinning and his legs felt like they were made of rubber but he knew that if he didn't get away now those things would catch up and that would be the end of it.

"Human-friend… are you here?" asked a weak and shaking voice. Joshua opened his aching eyes and could just make out a white blob stumbling toward him.

"Xiaomon?" he called out.

"Well it looks like your partner has had it human," said the all too familiar voice from above. Still bleary-eyed Joshua looked up and saw a Pipismon descending towards him.

"I told you this would happen and now I think you understand why. This world has no place for the weak especially in times like these. You may have thought us as vicious and cruel but that's nothing compared to awaits you out there,". He flew towards his tired and delirious partner and hovered over him ominously.

"Your little digimon is brave for sticking so close to you even when he's overpowered and outnumbered but bravery will never be enough to survive in this world. So why don't you just wise up and become our tamer instead? We know far more about this world than you'll ever know and we've got the power to prove it!"

Joshua tried sitting up but his body was still shaking from their attacks. Somehow these things could screech at painfully high frequencies to stun their pray like a bat on steroids and judging by the looks of those claws on their feet they would rip poor Xiaomon to shreds.

"Wait he's a…friend… you can't…," Joshua pleaded feebly.

"Just sit tight human while we take care of this," said the head Pipismon with an unmistakably cruel edge. "You should've picked a better friend."

At those words memories of the past swept Joshua far away from the forest. He was outside on a clear day, on Earth and staring down a much larger boy. Back then Joshua had friends; the three of them had promised each other that they would stick together when trouble came calling. The bully had that smug grin and predatory eyes that younger Joshua knew meant he wasn't going home that day without bruises. He dared to glance behind him to see where his friends had gone, he saw them running off into the trees at full speed. A particularly clear memory he had of that day was of the boy looking at him with what he swore was pity.

"_Damn, look at 'em run," he said flatly. He then punched Joshua in his right shoulder as the opening act to his play of punishment. "You should've picked better friends"._

Anger welled up inside his aching body. The fear and pain holding him to his place on the ground crumbled in its wake and an overwhelming need to protect Xiaomon took hold of his mind.

"Stop it!" he roared.

He reached into his pocket and clutched his cell phone. The thing had been next to useless and he needed something, anything to stop these things from hurting Xiaomon.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" he roared. He then chucked the phone as hard as he could at the largest Pipismon. He heard a sharp crack as the mobile device struck it in the head.

"Ow! What?" The stricken digimon looked confused for a second before settling its eyes back onto Joshua.

"You! We try to help you and this is the thanks we get? Fine! Have it your way!". The angered bat then rose higher in the air before going right into a dive aimed right at the human boy.

"Sky Jacker!" it screeched as its talons shone like cold steel in the moonlight.

Joshua brought his hands up on instinct and tried to move out of the way. Just then a wall of white blocked his vision and a cry of pain filled his ears.

"Ha! Didn't need to bother after all," the attacking Pipismon jeered. "Little moron did all the work for me!"

Joshua eyes were as wide as saucers as his mind pieced together what had just happened. Pipismon had just attacked him, he should've been cut but someone stepped in the way. He stared down at his lap and gasped at what he saw. It was Xiaomon but something about him had gone wrong, he looked…blocky, no pixelated! And he swore he could hear static coming from his body. What did it mean?

"Xiaomon?" Joshua called softly.

"….friend…" the little digimon answered back. Whatever was happening to him made him sound far away.

"Xiaomon?"Joshua called again. "What's happening to you?"

"He's being deleted of course!" answered one of the lesser Pipismon.

"In words you can understand human it means your little body guard will cease to exist!" the head Pipismon explained. "He's done for. Leave him."

Joshua said nothing; instead he wrapped his protector in his arms, brought him to his chest and wept. They hadn't even known each other for a day and yet this little digimon had not only stayed by his side but had sacrificed his life for him, even when he had every chance to run. Now he was just supposed to disappear?

Joshua's emotions ran wild once more, only this time anger was joined by an entire spectrum of emotions, each united into a single voice.

"No!"

All of a sudden a brilliant pillar of golden white light erupted from the ground. The lesser Pipismon squealed in unison as the cell phone the boy had thrown at their leader rose into the air and flew toward him. Joshua shielded his eyes as the ball of light floated in front of him. To his amazement the flying phone began to change shape. The once rectangular device began to thin out at the middle causing it to take on an increasingly hourglass shape until it quite literally split in two. The top half then expanded and elongated until it resembled a headpiece while the lower half kept its rectangular shape and thickened.

The upper half then floated toward his head and wrapped itself around his right ear while the lower half settled in his hand. To say he was speechless couldn't be less of an understatement.

"What is this? What's happening to the two of you?" asked a now thoroughly shocked Pipismon.

"Human-friend?" came a voice from Joshua's lap. He could see that same golden radiance surrounding his friend's body.

"I feel different, …stronger! I think I can fight like this!" The little digimon declared happily.

"Xiaomon…are you sure?" asked Joshua.

He nodded in response, jumped out of his lap and faced the Pipismon with a rejuvenated spirit.

"Hey! What's going on here?" asked one of the Pipismon.

Joshua smiled. "Our second wind of course!"

With those words the device in his hand came alive with the sound of buzzing electronics and the light that had surrounded Xiaomon enveloped him completely.

"Xiaomon digivolve to….Labramon!"

In a flash the once small, round puppy became what looked like a fully grown dog. He was about the same size, shape and color as a retriever but his tail had split into a multitude of curls and his paws sported claws that were much bigger and sharper looking than a normal dog should.

"Nevermind, I know I can fight like this!" the not-so-little-anymore digimon cried. Even his voice had changed in that it was now lower pitched with the quality of youth still present, like a human teenager.

"He…He digivolved!" cried the lesser Pipismon in unison.

"Human induced digivolution….I'd heard of it but to see it with my own eyes…," the greater Pipismon pondered aloud.

"Well why don't you feel it with your ears?" the newly evolved digimon offered. "Retriever Bark!"

Another sound wave pulsed through the night air but this time it was of a much lower yet purer tone than the attacks the Pipismon had been using all night. Even the ground and the trees shook at its intensity. The Pipismon had no doubt felt the attack as they were struggling to keep themselves in the air and were clearly in pain.

"Xiaomon what did you do?" asked Joshua.

"I used my attack on them," he answered. "And my name's Labramon now".

"I…you…what?" he stammered.

"That hurt you filthy mongrel!" shouted the head Pipismon angrily. "I don't care if you can digivolve, you're still outnumbered! Get up all of you! We'll attack them all at once!"

The other three Pipismon recovered and joined their leader in the air while Labramon bared his newly grown teeth and growled angrily. He then leapt at them causing them to scatter in different directions in a frenzy of barks and high-pitched shrieks. Joshua, stuck on the side lines, was about to look for a place to take cover behind when a beeping sound in his right ear distracted. The world surprised him yet again by showing him a blue screen that hung in the air in front of his face. The screen showed two figures, one was a white dog and the other looked like a bat. It took a moment for his taxed brain to recognize them as figures representing the digimon in front of him with text floating near them.

"Crazy Sonic Blaster!" shouted one of the Pipismon as they launched their attack. The sound didn't hit the human boy directly but it was enough for him to want to shield his ears from it. Meanwhile, his mind raced to absorb this new information and a way to use it. The screen, which incredibly had to be none other than a holographic display, showed information on each digimon and only the digimon that were in his line of sight. That must mean this device must record data on digimon that he was currently in the vicinity of. If that was true maybe it had information on how to beat them. He began skimming over the profiles.

Labramon: Beast type digimon, Level: rookie, Attribute: Vaccine.

Pipismon: Mutant digimon, Level: armor, Attribute: Data.

None of that made sense to him but he was starting to notice a suspiciously high use of computer terminology whenever Digimon were mentioned. Finally on the lower right portion of the screen a portion of text was in highlighted in neon green. It read: modify card on standby, would you like to activate it?

"Sky Jacker!" cried the Largest Pipismon. With a yelp of pain Labramon was once again on the ground with cuts covering his body.

"Xiao…, I mean Labramon are you ok?" asked Joshua.

Labramon struggled to get on back to his feet. "I don't know how much longer I'm going to last, these guys are fast and my attacks aren't hurting them enough".

Joshua cursed to himself. There was no way he was going to get his friend deleted; he'd do anything in his power to never have to see that again. He drew his attention toward the holographic display again. What was a modify card? Curious he reached out and "clicked" on the text. The screen went blank for a moment then showed a row of rectangles, all of whom were completely black except for one. The one was highlighted and more text appeared underneath it.

Card name: Data killer

Increases damage to Data type digimon.

"Data type Digimon," Joshua repeated. Wasn't Pipismon a data type? Could he use this Data Killer somehow? He reached toward the display again and selected the highlighted card. The other cards vanished and in his hand was the selected card only this card was real instead of a hologram!

"Heh, heh, we got him down! Just a little more he'll be gone for good!" shouted one of the Pipismon triumphantly.

Joshua looked away from the card. Labramon was on the ground and was surrounded by the Pipismon. Their flying was slower and much less graceful than before meaning that they had taken considerable damage but it looked like it with Labramon's new powers it still wasn't enough. Joshua looked frantically back at the card and then to the device in his right hand. That's when he saw it. The lower piece of his former cell phone had a card reader on it! All he had to do was scan the card!

The moment this thought entered his awareness other foreign thoughts took shape. Words formed in his mind that were not his own and he could clearly picture himself performing some weird motion as he ran the card through the reader. He felt compelled to try it.

As if pulled by invisible strings Joshua dutifully performed the overly complex waving motions he saw in his mind then slid the card through the reader.

"Digi-Modify!" he yelled. Somehow his voice seemed to echo through the forest. "Data killer activate!"

Joshua awoke from his trance and found himself in the end pose of the strange little dance he was forced to perform. The holo-display on his head showed that the card was in effect but the card itself had disappeared. This confused him utterly but it would have to wait. He quickly snapped himself back into his original position and watched the battle. Labramon was glowing again but this time with a lime-green light emanated from his body rather than a golden one. Labramon pushed himself off the ground and began to growl, then eyes his glowed that same strange color before he let loose his attack.

"Retriever Bark!" He howled. This time the effect was devastating as the Pipismon dropped out of the air like mosquitoes from a bug zapper. Even the largest of them was reduced to crawling on the ground in an attempt to get away.

"Boss! We need to get out of here, we're no good like this!" cried one the now downed Pipismon.

The head Pipismon looked angry. It was difficult to tell due to the injuries it had sustained in the fight but it was clear it was trying its best to maintain some form of dignity.

"As if the human and his pet would let us!" the leader scoffed angrily.

Joshua stared at the four bat digimon as he considered his options. That last card he had used had worked wonders. All four enemies had lost their aerial advantage and were too hurt to fight back. The Data killer card was still in effect and while Labramon had been weakened he bet he could still fire one or two attacks and from the readings his display was giving him they wouldn't survive it. He could delete them.

"Leave," Joshua ordered. "Leave and don't come back".

The other Pipismon raised their heads in surprise while their leader looked incredulous.

"You're letting us go? Why?" he asked earnestly.

Joshua considered his thoughts for a moment. "Unlike you I don't believe in hurting others just to make myself feel better. It'll be good enough just for you guys to leave us alone but rest assured if you ever come after us with intent to kill again we won't be so nice".

The Pipismon considered his words for a few moments. Eventually they waddled away from the battle. The head Pipismon started to follow them but then looked back at them with an unreadable expression.

"You still don't get it" he declared flatly. He then waddled after his underlings and disappeared into the night.

With their foes disappearance Joshua slumped his shoulders walked over to his partner. He hadn't realized from the fear and adrenaline but he was exhausted and judging by the haggard look from Labramon he felt it far more than he did.

"Did we win human-friend?" asked Labramon.

"Yeah, we won," the boy replied. "And call me Josh from now on will ya?"

"Josh?" said Labramon as he tested the name. "That's a weird name".

Josh lied down next Labramon and stared up at the alien sky overhead. His eyelids felt like lead and his whole body demanded sleep.

"I know," were the last words he said before drifting off to sleep.

Labramon nudged his partner to see if he was still awake but it was no use. He had drifted off into that other world you went to whenever you went to sleep at night. They hadn't been together for very long but somehow it felt like they had always known each other and when he digivolved he felt attached to him somehow. There was no doubt in his mind that he would follow him anywhere. So it was only right that he should follow him to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Isle of Humanity

Light stung Joshua's eyes even through his closed eyelids. He groaned softly then rolled over on his side to escape the morning sun's rays but was surprised when his face met something warm and furry. His body gave a slight jolt which caused him to open his eyes for the first time. White fur filled his field of vision and he briefly wondered where he was and why he wasn't in his room. He tried to push the foreign white object out of his bed but then his brain finally caught up with his body and he remembered that he was no longer in his own room or even on the same planet.

"Labramon you awake?" he asked groggily. His voice was weak and gravely from the long night of disuse.

His friend and partner stirred then yawned as he joined the waking world. Joshua took the moment to admire just how much Labramon had changed since last night. His teeth, especially his incisors, had grown vastly since he was Xiaomon. In fact he doubted there was anything about his partner that hadn't grown since last night.

"Hey Labramon, how did you grow so fast?" asked Joshua.

Labramon pushed himself off the ground with his front legs then sat back on his haunches. "I digivolved" he answered.

"Digivolved". He repeated. "Those Pipismon from last night said the same thing. So then "digivolution" must mean some sort of rapid growth. You were Xiaomon before and now you're bigger and stronger".

He considered his hypothesis for a moment. Of course such a thing would be completely impossible back home but then again he was a long way from home if last night was any indication. He played back last night's event in his mind for a moment then a thought came to him.

"Labramon have you ever digivolved before?" he asked.

Labramon raised his head in thought. "I think I remember one time a long time ago but I was really little then".

"Did you know you were going to digivolve?"

"I don't think so".

"So you didn't know that you'd become Xiaomon".

"No".

"But you're Labramon now?"

"yeah".

"Why do you call yourself Labramon?"

Labramon blinked. "Because it's my name".

"Yes but who named you that?"

"I don't know".

"Well then where did your name come from?"

"I don't know," he repeated. "I just knew I was Labramon when I digivolved".

"Well that makes no sense," said Joshua. "It'd be an ontological paradox if that were true".

Poor Labramon tilted his head in way that reminded Joshua of the last time his explanations had gone over the friendly digimons head. "You know a lot of weird words Josh. Do all humans talk like you?"

The boy couldn't help but chuckle at his partner's sincerity "Just the ones that get their education on Wikipedia, speaking of which I've got an idea".

Joshua reached into his pocket and pulled out his former cell phone. At one time the sight of a cell phone splitting in two and changing into a device far more advanced than any modern phone ought to be would have him questioning his sanity. Now it was just one of the things he'd learned to accept.

He put the upper half over his right ear and pressed a button on the side. As it had last night a square hologram popped into existence right in front of his eyes. Labramon was clearly curious as his eyes lit up with an unmistakable light.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's a hologram the device on my ear created. Right now I'm just fiddling with it to see what it's for and what it can do".

Joshua's eyes scanned back and forth in their sockets as he scrolled through several screens each providing him with different information or prompting him to customize a setting. He filed several of the device's suggestions away in his mind for future use until he came across a screen called "Energy Detection". He pressed it which opened a smaller window over the larger one. The words "Digivice Detection" appeared on screen. Joshua wondered whether this function was used if he lost the lower half of this futuristic contraption.

The screen changed again, this time a red arrow appeared as well as a compass rose, a white dot and a blinking red dot. Joshua eyes widened as he realized what he had found.

"What's it doing now Josh?" Labramon inquired.

Joshua turned to the East and watched as the arrow pointed further west. "I think we're in luck," he said.

"If this thing is right someone else with a "phone" like mine might be here. They might even be human!"  
He exclaimed.

"Ok, it looks like the signal is coming from somewhere to the northeast of us. It's hard to judge distance but we should be able to make it there in a couple of hours at the most,".

"Well wherever you want to go I'll follow," said Labramon.

Joshua nodded and the boy and his digimon headed off into the forest, a half hour later they were walking through another strange part of the forest where exotic plants that looked like a cross between a small tree and a mushroom crowded the forest floor. Fortunately, the tops of them provided excellent shade from the late morning heat. Labramon scouted ahead of him sniffing at the various plants and darting from tree mushroom to the other. Joshua took the time to notice the big differences in his partner's speed and stamina as the not quite a dog digimon had been keeping this pace up for quite a while.

"Hey Labramon, what are you looking for?"

"Enemies," he answered tersely.

"You find any?"

"No," he answered as he circled one of the larger plants. "not yet."

"We haven't seen any strong digimon at all since we started walking so I think we should be fine," Joshua stated.

Labramon nodded but he continued sniffing around anyway. Joshua sighed and continued to follow the compass. Lucky for them his estimate of the distance between them and the signal was far off as it looked like they'd find the source much sooner than they'd expected.

"Labramon, can you smell any other humans yet?" he asked.

Labramon's tail perked its tail up and he pointed its body in a direction where the hybrid plant-fungi where thinning out.

"I smell digimon, lots of them," he gave the air another whiff. "and water! Lots of salty water".

Excited, the white digimon took off in the direction of the clearing leaving his human partner behind and struggling to catch up with him. Joshua couldn't help but be reminded of a time where a much smaller Xiaomon had trouble keeping up with him. Now his limitations as a human were showing and he doubted Labramon was even running at full speed. Eventually he made his way toward the clearing and found his partner sitting on top of a small hill and looking out at something. Joshua followed him then rested his hands on his knees panting heavily. Eventually he caught his breath and joined Labramon taking in the view.

The forest had given way to a white, sandy beach with a vast blue ocean dominating the horizon. Despite the natural beauty of the land what drew their attention the most was that this beach was obviously inhabited. Joshua didn't quite know what to make of it as the village seemed to be a mix between a group ofprimitive mud huts and a junkyard. Everywhere he looked he saw old cars, timeworn buses, and even a few phone booths that had been converted into some kind of makeshift home with materials obviously taken from the forest. The inhabitants themselves were no less diverse, digimon of all shapes and colors walked, crawled, and bounced about in every digimon. Judging by Labramon's lack of a reaction he doubted any of them posed any kind of threat but Joshua scanned a few of them with his head gear just to be sure.

"Hmm, it says these digimon are all baby and in-training level and judging by the information I'm getting on them I think it's safe to say they pose little threat to us," Joshua calculated. "Have you ever been to this village before Labramon?"

"Nope. This is my first time being here," he answered. He sniffed the air the again then brought his nose to the ground like a bloodhound following a scent. "Hey! I think I smell humans!"

"Humans?" Joshua repeated. "As in plural?

Labramon wasted no time and set off toward the village forcing Joshua to once again play catch up which was now even harder since he was running through sand. As both he and his overzealous partner entered the settlement they were immediately gawked at by a sea of small eyes. Joshua and Labramon just stood there unsure of how to approach or explain their prescence. Just then a small light-green digimon that looked a tiny head poking out of a puddle of slime separated from the crowd.

"He's here! The human is here!" It shouted.

The crowd erupted into impromptu cheering and bouncing much to the bafflement of the boy and his partner.

"Another one is here!"

"We've been waiting for you!"

"Welcome to our village!"

"Do you have a partner?"

"We're so glad you came!"

Joshua was overwhelmed with a flood of high-pitched voices all praising him, asking him questions, rubbing against and some even tried to push him. In fact some of the lesser digimon behind him had formed a line to push him forward while the ones in front of him parted and created a clear path for him to follow.

"Quick! Take him to the priestess with the others!"

"Priestess?" Joshua repeated.

By now he didn't need the little digimon pushing him around to figure where they wanted him to go. Labramon hadn't been too happy with the rough treatment either as he had growled at the crowds whenever he thought they had gotten too rough. The whole scene made him feel like some kind of a celebrity. Eventually they made their way along a beach until they stood in front of vehicle he knew all too well. An airplane, a 747 jumbo jet to be precise, was lying on the beach with its belly buried in the white sand and its wings torn. The digimon had taken quite a bit of interest in it since it was decorated with various symbols and figures Joshua couldn't identify but gave the place a sacred air about it.

Finally he was lead toward on one of the rear side doors where another digimon, a kokomon he remembered from the scanner, lead him inside.

"The priestess of humanity has been awaiting your arrival," she said as she moved to the side to let him inside.

Joshua felt his heart begin to pound as anticipation set in. These digimon knew he was coming and judging by the way they were treating him and Labramon they were expecting something from him, something huge. There was also the chance that this "priestess" was the one responsible for bringing him here. He took a moment to consider his options. As if reading his mind Labramon stepped in front of him and entered first. Joshua followed right behind him and stepped on the plane.

The inside was much like the outside in that it was decorated with the same strange symbols only this time candles and various statues were placed on the window seats and a large black curtain decorated with stars separated the coach seats from first class. Joshua and Labramon looked around until they both heard voices coming from the first class.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Joshua called out.

"Hey! You the new guy? Come up here with the rest of us!" a female voice answered back.

Joshua suppressed a gasp. The voice sounded like a human's but he had seen far too much to jump to any conclusions.

"Are you the priestess?" he asked.

He heard the giggle. "Not me honey! Look just come up here. We got food and everything!"

"C'mon dude we've been waiting for the last guy all day! Get in here!" A distinctly male voice demanded.

"Oh be nice, you don't what he's been through," the female voice scolded. "He probably doesn't even know what happened to him".

Joshua and Labramon walked toward the curtain. The voices were human no doubt about it and judging by the slight accent of the female voice it sounded like she was from New York.

"Hey it's happened to all of us and the only way we're gonna get the full story is if he's here!"

Seeing no other reason to wait he parted the curtains and stepped inside. The décor of this room was like the rest of the plane, decorated in symbols he didn't understand and full of candles but the walls of the cabin had been painted a deep crimson with streaks of gold in a few places. A sweet aroma filled his nostrils that coaxed him into a more relaxed state while sending Labramon into a sniffing frenzy.

In the seats were four humans… no, people roughly about his age eating what looked like bananas and straight ahead near the cockpit a small rabbit-like digimon with four ears sat with its eyes closed and its hands clasped together as if in prayer. To his immediate right was a black girl dressed in a blue track suit holding a large pink bird in her lap. To his left sat a boy with brown hair and wearing a red hoodie and blue jeans, the look on his face told him that his patience had long reached its limit. One seat up from him sat a younger kid wearing a yellow hoodie, blue jeans and dark grey wool cap and at the upper left side of the plane sat a girl with long black hair and very dark eyes dressed in a white shirt, a light blue bolero and a mid-length blue skirt.

"Finally! Can we start now Lunamon?" asked the boy in the red hoodie.

"Slow your roll, he just got here! I think we should all introduce ourselves first. You know to be polite," the girl in the track suit scolded. She then faced Joshua with a warm smile.

"My name's Claire and it's very nice to meet you," she said politely.

"And I'm her partner Biyomon," the pink bird declared.

"Name's Tyler," Tyler said tersely.

The girl with the long black hair stood up with the banana still in hand. "My name's Selena" she stated.

"Tony," the boy in the grey wool cap said without facing him.

The little rabbit digimon near the front of the aisle finally opened her eyes and addressed him with an unbearably cute smile.

"And I am Lunamon, head priestess and keeper of the Shrine of Humanity. Words cannot express my joy at your arrival. If it pleases you, state your name so that I may forever treasure yet another of our saviors,".

"Uhhh.." Joshua stammered. He hadn't been expecting that at all. "I'm Joshua Ward and uh…this here is Labramon."

"Hi!" Labramon hailed enthusiastically. "Wow, you didn't tell me humans could look so funny Josh,"

"Look who's talking!" Tyler replied.

"Oh! He's so cute! He looks just like my aunt's Labrador retriever!" Claire gushed .

Tyler scoffed. "Cute, right. Well we've been waiting on late boy and Scooby-Doo here for too long. I wanna know what the hell's going on already!,"

"Yeah, me too," Tony agreed.

Labramon turned to Joshua confused. "Josh, who's Scooby-Doo?"

"Uh, no one, I'll tell you later," he said.

Selena turned toward the tiny priestess. "Lunamon?"

Lunamon nodded. "Now that the five of you have gathered at our shrine I can now tell you the purpose for your presence in this world. Exactly one month ago I received a vision foretelling the arrival of five humans who possess otherworldly talents and that they would choose five digimon from among us as their guardians. Together their light will shine from the heavens and release this realm burning in the emerald flames of its burden. Within in each of you is the power our kind has long been searching for so I beseech you please use your power to destroy the digital world,".

The five humans and two digimon stayed completely silent. Joshua's own surprise was natural given that he was the last to arrive and obviously the least informed but the others had similar looks of bewilderment plastered on their faces. None of them moved, shock had rooted them all in place.

Tyler was the first snap out of the trance. "Wait, you want us to do what now?"


	5. Chapter 5: How to Tame your Dragon

Chapter 5: How to Tame Your Dragon!

The five humans and two digimon stared at the little priestess with shock still clear on their faces.

"Wait, you want us to do what now?" asked Tyler.

"I know it may seem like a strange request," Lunamon started. "But the truth is this world needs to be destroyed so that it may escape a far worse fate,"

"Calling it "strange" is putting it mildly don't cha think?" asked Claire sarcastically.

"Yeah, what the hell? Don't you want us to save the world or something?" questioned Tyler.

Lunamon drew her eyes to the floor. "I'm afraid it is much too late for that. The digital world has been damaged beyond its ability to repair itself and those who try to fight against it have only hastened its demise".

"What exactly is destroying the Digital World?" asked Selena.

Lunamon drew in a deep breath as her mind brought forth painful memories. "The Emerald Flame," she answered. "No one knows where it came from but it appeared one awful day and has been tearing our world apart for years. Any of our fellow digimon who have been exposed to it have become corrupted. They lose their minds and become nothing but monsters who wish to destroy and infect other digimon. Even the foundations of the digital world aren't immune, the flames even have the ability to infect and spread over entire landscapes. Some parts of the Digital world have either become completely inhospitable or no longer exist all!"

"How do you know all this Lunamon?" Joshua asked.

"As the priestess of the Shrine of Humanity I am the conduit through which the Harmonious Ones enact their will. It is through them that you arrived and received your artifact,".

"Artifact?"

"The device you are wearing is proof of their favor," she explained.

Joshua touched his right hand to his ear. "You know what this is?"

"It's called a digivice. It is worn by humans as a sign that their destiny is intertwined with that of the Digital World. Among digimon it is symbol of the humans' power and grace,"

"Wait! Then how come only he and Claire have one?" asked Tyler.

"The digivice appears when the human has chosen his guardian," she explained. "I have little doubt all of you will receive one of your own in time".

"Right. So these Harmonious ones, they're some kind of gods of this world?" asked Joshua.

"You could say that. They are the ones who shape and maintain the Digital World for the betterment of all digimon," Lunamon answered.

"And I suppose they won't let us go back to our world until we "destroy" this one am I right?

Lunamon looked uncomfortable for a moment. "I do not have total knowledge of their intentions but the legends imply that the chosen humans will remain in this world until their task is complete".

"That's all I needed to hear," he stated. "Labramon, let's go".

"We're leaving now?" queried his partner.

"Yes, I need some time to think about all this," he said as he walked through the veil. Labramon looked back at the others one last time then obediently followed Joshua out.

"I'll go with him," said Claire "C'mon Biyomon".

The pink bird likewise followed her human partner out of the first class cabin.

"Well if they're leaving I'm going back out for more food anybody with me?" asked Tyler as he rose from his seat.

"I'll go," said Tony. Together they both walked out of the cabin.

Lunamon's large eyes watched as the humans who held her world's salvation in their hands filed out of her shrine. She may have only been a rookie but she was observant enough to know that the prophecy had disturbed her guests and gaining their trust just became that much more difficult. She slumped her tiny shoulders and returned her gaze to the floor crestfallen.

Selena turned to Lunamon with a face that oozed compassion. "I'll just stay here for now. I'm sure they'll come around eventually," she said trying to ease the priestess' discomfort.

Joshua and Labramon walked along the beach until they came to the ocean. The foamy waves and cool sea breezes reminded Joshua of the time he and his family took a vacation to Hawaii. He'd never swam in the ocean before and all the exotic fish frightened him. Luckily his mom was there to calm him down but his little sister just called him a baby.

"Why'd you want to walk out here Josh?" asked Labramon.

His partner's question snapped Joshua out of his trance. "I'm just….thinking is all. Everything Lunamon said to us just put me in a bad mood,".

"You're afraid of her?

"Of her? Not really but I don't want you going near her," Joshua warned.

Labramon looked at his friend in surprise. "Why's that?"

"She-"

"Hey you! Joshua right?" a female voice called out.

Joshua turned toward its source and saw the girl in the blue track suit walking toward him with the pink bird walking close behind.

"Hey," he answered back. "Um, what brings you out here, um, uh…"

"Claire," Claire finished.

"Right! Claire, sorry. I'm kind of bad with names,"

"That's alright, you just got here so I didn't think you'd remember everything right away,"

"You remember me don't you?" asked Claire's feathered companion.

"You're…," he began but his memory refused to give him the name he needed. Thinking quickly he pressed a button on the part of the digivice attached to the side of his head. Instantly a blue screen appeared in front of his eyes and fed him data on the digimon's identity.

**Name: Biyomon**

**Type: Bird Digimon**

**Attribute: Vaccine**

**Level: Rookie**

"Hey! That's cheating!" cried Biyomon. She made her annoyance clear with the angry flapping of her wings. "You didn't remember me at all!"

"Sorry, it's just that this thing is so convenient. I haven't taken it off since I got here," Joshua explained as he tried to placate the angry bird.

Claire giggled at their little exchange. "I know what you mean. The only thing that's been closer to me then the digivice has been Biyomon here.

"That's right! I've stuck by Claire the entire time like a real guardian should. Nothing's even dared to attack her the entire time she's been here!," she boasted.

Neither Joshua nor Labramon missed the pride the little bird put into the statement but only Joshua caught the air of challenge directed at his companion.

"You're right. Our digimon seem to stick to us like glue don't they? Speaking of which how do you feel about Lunamon?" Joshua asked.

"Other than the fact that she's one of the most adorable things I've ever seen I think she's nice if a little overly formal," Claire answered. Biyomon made a scoffing noise and turned her beak up behind Claire's back. "You really get a sense that she's intimidated by it all though. When I first got here she was tripping over herself trying to impress me and constantly telling me how blessed she was to have met a real human. It was like I was the freaking pope!

"We do seem to have almost a religious following here. I'm guessing that all these digimon here on the beach worship humans as saviors," Joshua added.

"Yeah, so true. So tell me, what do you think of the bunny priestess?" Claire asked.

"Honestly? I don't trust her,"

"Really? Why not?"

"Her story doesn't add up. I don't know about the rest of you but I certainly wasn't asked to save or destroy this world by some benevolent deity. I was kidnapped on a train by a creepy voice over the phone that said it would kill my little sister and everyone else on the train if I didn't cooperate," he explained.

Claire brought her hands to her mouth and gasped. "Oh my God! I didn't think anyone else had that happen to them!

Joshua jerked his head up in surprise. "You know about the Voice?"

Claire shook her head. "I don't know if I'd call it that but it definitely had a voice you'd never forget,". She then took a deep breath and continued. "My little brother Arthur got a new toy for his birthday; he's just six so one of my uncles gets him one of those big action figures that's supposed to be really expensive. He played with the thing constantly; I was surprised he hadn't broken it in the first week. So one day I come home from school and my parents aren't home so it's just me and him. I walk past his room and I hear him talking to someone and I knew he wasn't just playing because I could hear an older man's voice in there with him!

"Did the voice sound artificial?" Joshua interrupted. "I mean did it sound like he was trying to disguise his voice behind a voice altering program or static?"

"No this was much clearer. It sounded just like an old man talking to a kid. So I walk in there and I see Arthur talking to his toy but the toy's talking back! I don't even see how cause its mouth can't move! And Arthur's just standing there like a statue, he doesn't say anything to me. He doesn't even look at me! And then the toy turns toward me and says "A deal's a deal. It's time for us to go!"".

"So what did you do?"

"I told him that I'd take his place if he'd just let Arthur go. He said he would if I came with him. Suddenly my head starts feeling like a balloon with the air coming out of it, I pass out and wake up here,"

"You're right that does sound somewhat like what happened to me. Both times that "thing" used seemingly impossible means of contact and held our siblings hostage in order to force us to come to this world. Interesting…"

"But he said he wanted my brother,"

"Doubt it, more than likely he was just using him to get to you,".

"So what, you're gonna be our team detective while we're here?,"

A smirk appeared on Joshua's face despite his attempt to hide it. "I don't see why not. Plus there's some other stuff she mentioned that's weird like…,"

Suddenly, the sound of high-pitched voices screaming in terror interrupted Joshua. Startled, the humans and their digimon turned in unison toward the village and saw he villagers fleeing from something.

"What's going on?" asked Biyomon.

"Something's happening in the village," said Joshua.

"We need to help them!" shouted Labramon.

The four of them took off toward the village with Labramon taking the lead.

"I hope Tyler and Tony are Ok," said Claire.

"Tyler come back!" yelled Tony.

"Hold on, I'm just gonna beat the crap out of this lizard first!" Tyler called back.

In front of Tyler stood a turquoise-colored digimon that Tyler had never seen before. It looked like a little two-legged dragon with red wings, red horns, a white underbelly and red eyes. It had just smashed through several of the villager's homes and was holding several metallic objects in its mouth.

"Hey ya big lizard I'm talking to you!" yelled Tyler.

The Digimon crunched down on the metal objects in its mouth then swallowed them as if they were hard candy. He growled at him and lowered its head.

"What are you?" it asked.

"I'm the man on a mission! The man everyone's gonna see when they look at the sky! And right now I'm the man that's going kick your scaly green ass out of this village!" Tyler answered in as grandiose a manner he could muster.

The reptile digimon grinded the last bits of metal between its teeth then spat them out at the ground.

"Fight… Good!" it growled.

The zealous teenager charged at the dragon and wrapped it up in his arms. For a few moments it looked the two were in a wrestling match with both opponents trying to gain leverage but then the dragon lifted Tyler off the ground and tossed him behind its back with a mighty heave. Tyler landed on his back, kicking up a cloud of sand from the impact.

"Ty please! Come back before that thing kills you!" Tony pleaded.

"No! Tyler Morris never runs from a fight! Especially not from some little lizard that picks on the weak!" he called back. Tyler rolled over and pushed himself up from the ground.

Come on AJ watch me make a purse out of him!" he called back.

The dragon turned toward him as if expecting him to make the next move. Tyler didn't disappoint as he grabbed a metal bar from the ground and charged toward it as if he was holding a sword.

"Here!" he cried as he swung the bar toward the dragon's head like a baseball bat. It connected and for his effort he managed to turn the digimon's head toward the side. Trying to keep the fight going Tyler brought the bat back to his side and swung again but this time the dragon was ready. It opened its mouth and caught the rod in its mouth mid-swing. Tyler tried to pry the weapon away but the dragon was having none of it. It whirled its head around to its left bringing the human with him.

"Ty let go!" Tony called out. He was getting worried. That digimon was clearly stronger than Tyler or any of the other digimon in the village. If this fight didn't end soon Tyler could get hurt or killed!

Tony's fear weren't unfounded as the dragon's jaws had clamped down tight on the bar and was swinging the hapless human around like a flag but Tyler refused to let go.

"I'm not letting go!" Tyler yelled in defiance. "You might scare everyone else away but not me!"

The dragon digimon seemed to be getting annoyed by his opponent's persistence. Instead of swinging from side to side it began turning in a circle. It turned faster and faster until Tyler's form blurred then the dragon finally released its jaws' grip on the metal bar and tossed the hapless human into the air in a hammer throw. Now airborne, Tyler had no choice but to watch as he flew toward one of the wooden homes of the digimon. He crashed into the side causing the whole structure to collapse in on itself.

"Ty!" screeched Tony. He sprinted toward the house as fast as his legs could carry him. Just then he saw Labramon and Biyomon heading toward him.

"Please you gotta help us! Ty is hurt!" he pleaded.

"What happened?" asked Biyomon.

"Tyler was hurt fighting that digimon over there!" he said. He pointed toward the turquoise-colored dragon who was now rummaging through the village. "I told him not to but he did it anyway and he got tossed into a house!"

The two partner digimon looked toward the dragon in question.

"Let's take him down together!" commanded Biyomon.

"Don't forget about us!" a female voice called out.

Claire and Joshua appeared right behind them noticeably out of breath from the run.

"What's going on?" asked Joshua.

"No time we need to fight now!" Biyomon stated as she pointed toward the greenish-blue reptile making its way through the village. "Claire!"

"Right!," said Claire as she pressed a button on her digivice bringing up the holographic HUD.

Joshua did the same and scanned the dragon digimon .

**Name: Dracomon**

**Type: Dragon Digimon**

**Attribute: Data**

**Level: Rookie**

"A data attribute? That's perfect! Labramon!"

"Yes?" his partner digimon called back.

"Go in for the attack! It'll be just like Pipismon!"

Labramon nodded and moved in closer toward his target. The Dracomon turned toward the white canine and regarded him with what looked like curiosity.

"Biyomon stick to the air and attack, he won't be able catch you with those tiny wings!" Claire commanded.

"I was thinking the very same thing. I'll support Labramon from behind," she answered back as she took to the air.

"Josh, I'm ready!" Labramon called back.

"Good!" said Joshua as he brought up his digivice's card selection screen. The rows of black cards filled his vision until he came upon the card he had used last time in the forest. He reached for it and the once virtual image solidified into an actual card then he grabbed the lower portion of his digivice attached to his waist As before words filled his mind and the sequence of movements seemed to flow through his body.

"Digi-modify!" he yelled. As before his voice echoed through the air. "Data Killer activate!"

Labramon's body shimmered with green light and he readied himself for his attack.

"Retriever Bark!" he roared as shockwaves emanated from his mouth. Sand was kicked up as if caught in a violent wind. The dragon seemed unworried by it but as the pressure waves rattled its body it had realized that that had been a mistake. A cry of pain escaped the Dracomon's mouth followed by an angry growl as it put its full attention on Labramon.

"Baby Breath!" it cried as it launched a fire ball at Labramon. The attack almost connected but Labramon leapt out of the line of fire just in time for the attack to graze him. He let out a small yelp as the flames singed his fur.

"Labramon, keep your distance!" Joshua commanded.

"I got him!" declared Biyomon. "Spiral Twister!"

Green flames spiraled out of the tip of Biyomon's beak and lanced out at Dracomon. Now much more alert it danced out of the way of her attack and looked up at the pink bird.

"Can't attack me from way up here!" she taunted.

Dracomon didn't respond. Instead he walked over to the pile of debris it had created when it first entered the village.

"Tail Smash!" it called out as it spun its body in a tight circle and launched a hunk of metal like a missile with its tail. The projectile flew toward Biyomon but she narrowly avoided it by losing altitude.

"Biyomon are you alright?" asked Claire.

"I'm fine!," she managed to say before she had to dodge another object the dragon had lobbed at her.

"Retriever Bark!" Labramon called out as the shockwaves once again swept over the land and crashed into Dracomon. Once again its body shook from the attack but it held its ground and launched another fireball at him.

"The modify card must have worn off!" stated Joshua. "I don't have anything else to help Labramon with!"

"Leave it to Biyomon and me," Claire advised as she grabbed a card from her own display. At once she went into her own series of movements before finally scanning the card.

"Digi-modify!" she yelled. "Speed activate!"

Biyomon's body didn't glow like Labramon's but the drastic change in her movements was all the evidence he needed that it worked. She flew through the air as a pink blur making dodging the debris Dracomon threw at her easy. Convinced she could avoid the dragon's attacks Biyomon flew in to launch one of her own.

"Spiral Twister!" she cried as the green fire once again spiraled toward her opponent. This time the flames licked at Dracomon's body causing him fall back in pain.

"He's weakened! Now let's get him together!" Claire declared.

"Hold it!" yelled a male voice.

Tyler, dirty and bruised from the fight, ambled into the battlefield with a look of sheer determination on its face.

"What are you doing? Get back you idiot!" demanded Joshua.

"Shut up! I'm taking care of him!" he yelled back. Tyler increased his pace to a jog until he stood only a few feet away from the angered digimon.

"Tyler we aren't playing around here! Get back before you get killed!" screamed Clair.

"Dammit we can't attack while he's so close to that thing!" said Joshua in frustration.

"C'mon lizard we aren't done yet!" Tyler declared.

The Dracomon glared at him with those severe red eyes and growled in a fashion that made it clear it wasn't in nany mood to entertain him.

"Go away! This is my fight!"

"No, it's ours! I didn't come here just to get run down by you or anyone else!" he retorted. He then took up some kind of martial arts stance.

"You are a human. You break too easy," Dracomon stated.

"Then let me surprise you!" he said. He then reached into his shirt and pulled out a necklace. It was small silver colored sword in its sheath with a small golden dragon coiled around the length of the scabbard. "This right here is my symbol. It puts me the right state of mind anytime I face my opponent. No competition! "

He held the small pendant out in front of him proudly. The clean metal caught the sunlight causing the golden dragon to glitter like a golden flame and the silver sword to shine like the Digital World's white moon. Dracomon's mouth salivated and he felt his body being drawn toward the pretty, shiny object the human held in front of him.

"What's happening to Dracomon?" asked Biyomon.

"I don't know but he seems to have forgotten about the fight completely," Joshua replied.

Dracomon's eyes were glued to Tyler's pendant, a fact that didn't go unnoticed even by the proud boy.

"Oh, you like the pendant? We'll if you want it you have to take it from me!" he stood up and held the pendant aloft over the dragon. Dracomon's head followed in a trance as he seemed entirely absorbed in its radiance. For one moment Tyler turned his head toward his fellow humans and smirked in triumph, in one moment his eyes left the ensorcelled digimon standing right in front of him but one moment was all Dracomon needed as he leapt up and snatched the pendant out of Tyler's hand and swallowed it whole.

"What the hell! Give it back lizard! That's mine!" Tyler yelled angrily as he tackled the digimon's body. Dracomon tried rolling in the sand to get the annoying human off of it but he refused to be shaken off.

"Cough it up now!" he screamed. He then maneuvered his body behind the dragon digimon and tried hitting the back of his head. Surprisingly, the area was quite soft in contrast the toughness the rest of its body had. Suddenly, Tyler heard his opponents annoyed growls become vicious roars, its horns glowed red and its already scarlet eyes sparkled like rubies.

"G Shurunen!" it bellowed. A red laser erupted from the enraged digimon's mouth burning a trench in the sandy soil turning it to glass and scorching the wooden scraps to ashes. Tyler and Dracomon were blown backwards by the force of the attack and hit a run down propeller plane. Junk spilled out of the interior and both human and digimon collapsed in a heap under a pile of metal and plastic. Both were utterly exhausted.

"Human…why?" Dracomon croaked out.

"My name's… Tyler Morris," he said in between breaths. "And if I'm gonna be stuck in this world I'm gonna need a digimon and my damn pendant. Since you ate it that means you gotta come with me!"

Though he was tired Tyler could see the dragon was thinking about something, if only briefly.

"Fine. I'll follow you, Sire," he said weakly.

A bright light appeared in front of them and hovered in front of Tyler's face. At first he thought the sun was shining in his eyes but then the light split in to two. One half attached to his ear while the other half attached to his waist. He looked and saw the other two humans, Claire and that new kid, running toward him with concern plastered on their faces. When they saw the device clinging to his ear their eyes widened so much he couldn't help but laugh at them.

"Ha Ha!" he chuckled before his body pulled him into unconsciousness.

**And so we have our third partner digimon , our second fight scene, and my first Author commentary. I guessed it was time I do something like this since this probably going to be the longest story I've ever written.**

**As for the chapter itself I took the time to add in a little deconstruction to one of the characters, Bonus points to whoever figures out which characters Tyler is channeling in this scene!**

**As always reviews are much appreciated. You guy are the ones keeping me going! **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: In the name of three moons…

"What the hell were you thinking!" yelled an angry voice.

Tyler Morris groaned, opened his weary eyes and looked into the angry face of the girl he had met only days ago staring at him. He was in a bed of some sort and surrounded by the small head-shaped digimon and the other guys that had gotten pulled into this world with him. He tried sitting up but a painful spasm in his back quickly squashed that idea.

"I'll ask you again, what were you thinking charging at a digimon by yourself?" the girl, Claire he remembered, asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders and rubbed his eyes as he addressed her. "Didn't need to think, I just acted," he responded.

"That thing almost killed you and it would have if I, Joshua and our digimon hadn't been here!" she admonished.

Tyler looked past the angry girl and saw the new kid, Joshua, leaning against a wall and staring at the ground. He glanced toward the bed he was resting in for a moment then quickly returned his gaze toward the floor. "_Wonder what that's about?"_ he thought. He then looked around the small room expecting a much larger and scalier digimon to be present.

"Hey, where's the lizard?" Tyler asked.

"We're detaining him," Joshua answered. "He's outside being watched by the other digimon in the village. We would've kicked him out but since you and he are partners now we're just holding him until we decide what to do with him,"

A smile crept across Tyler's face as he remembered the glowing ball of light that transformed into a digivice that appeared before he passed out.

"Where's my stuff?" He asked.

"Over here!" answered a Koromon. "We put your things in the corner,"

"We even found your extra eyes you dropped during the fight!" a small digimon that looked like a cross between a puppy and a kitten said.

"Extra eyes?" Tyler repeated, confused.

"yup!" the little digimon cried. It then bounced over to the corner closest to Tyler's bed, grabbed something in its mouth, and presented it to him. Clutched in the lesser digimon's tiny fangs was a pair of gold-trimmed aviator goggles. Tyler looked at them curiously, they obviously weren't his but he reached out for them anyway.

"Um, these aren't mine but do you mind if I keep 'em?" he asked hoping for a positive answer.

"Sure! They were just lying around in that big pile you and Dracomon were in when you fought so we thought they were yours," it explained.

Tyler smiled and slipped the goggles over his head. He adjusted the straps until it fit then slid them over his eyes. As he looked through the lenses he saw Claire just now noticing him. At first she still seemed angry at him but then little snickering noises escaped from her mouth as she took in his new look.

"You're really gonna wear those?" she asked. "They make you look like a dork!"

Tyler just smiled back at her. "I like 'em." He said, tersely.

As Tyler was admiring his new headgear Lunamon, Selena and Tony walked into the hut. Immediately Tony ran up Tyler's side with a worried look on his face but when he saw him relaxing in the makeshift bed with the goggles on his face his face brightened considerably.

"Hey, Ty where'd you get those goggles?" he asked.

"From that little guy over there," he said, pointing to the small furry digimon from earlier. "Pretty badass don't 'cha think?"

Both of them chuckled while Claire simply rolled her eyes and Joshua kept his on the ground. Sensing a good time to make her presence known Lunamon walked to the center of the room to address the humans.

"I am delighted to see you well Lord Tyler," Lunamon stated in her usual formal tone. "I had prayed your injuries from your altercation with the intruder were not too severe,"

"No worries here! I way too tough for some little blue dragon to break me," he boasted. Then he held his arms up and flexed his biceps. "All Steel!"

The reaction from the rest of the group was much the same as before. Tyler and Tony continued to laugh while Claire and Selena groaned and chuckled respectively. Lunamon simply gave him a polite smile while Joshua continued his examination of the floor.

"Yes well, though I am pleased to see you in such high spirits I must express concern over your choice of a partner," said Lunamon.

Tyler looked at her in confusion. "What about it?"

"Dracomon's been terrorizing this village for months!" cried Selena. "Even after everything you saw him do how could you become partners with that thing?"

"It does seem irresponsible at the very least," added Joshua, breaking his silence.

Tyler scratched his head. "Hey I know he likes to play rough but-"

"But nothing!" cried a Koromon. "Every time he comes here he literally eats us out of our homes and he's so strong that if any of us tries to fight him he just tosses us aside. Until today no one's ever beaten him,"

"Well you won't have to worry about him anymore 'cause now he's with me!" Tyler responded, pride evident on his face.

"Why choose him and not one of us?" asked a Tokomon

"Er, what?" Tyler stammered.

"Yeah, most of us have been waiting our whole lives for a chance to partner with a human and then he just comes along and gets chosen! Weren't we good enough for you?" asked the koromon with a tone of accusation in its voice.

Tyler was beginning to look flustered. "No! I mean Yes! Well, I didn't mean…"

"That will be quite enough!" stated Lunamon with as much authority as she could muster. "I understand your disappointment but Lord Tyler's decision is the will of the Harmonious Ones and we should respect it,".

Tyler showed his gratitude with the relief on his face.

"Speaking of which," Lunamon continued. "I believe it is time to fulfill my duties as priestess of the Isle of Humanity,"

"You mean you're actually going to tell us what we're supposed to do here?" asked Joshua.

Lunamon nodded. "As you know the Shrine of humanity is a place where digimon come to honor and worship the Harmonious Ones in the hopes that they will bring humans from the Other World. As its priestess it is my responsibility to maintain the shrine and act in accordance with their Will. Unfortunately I am only a replacement of the previous priestess and it's said that her powers were greater than mine".

"Luna, you didn't mention any other priestesses before," said Selena.

"I have never had the honor of meeting her. She existed long before I took up the mantle and according to the sparse records we have of her she was able to act not only as a priestess but also as the guardian of the String Archipelago,"

"Archipelago? There's more Islands? How come we've never seen any?" asked Tony.

"Since your arrival you have only stayed on the part of the Island facing away from the others. There are three in all: Icon, Image, and Field. These islands form the only landmasses in the Net Ocean for miles around,"

"Wait! I thought you said this Island was called the Isle of humanity? Where are we now?" asked Tyler.

"This island has two names, the Isle of Humanity is a more local name based around the popularity of the shrine. Its older name is Image Island,".

Joshua crossed his arms. "So what does any of this have to do with destroying the Digital World or getting us back home?"

"My predecessor was said to have had the strongest connection to the Harmonious Ones among the digimon in the archipelago. If you all were able to find her she could lead you toward your destiny in this world and possibly a way for you to return to your own world".

"So how do we find her?" asked Claire. "Does anybody even know what type of digimon she is?

"I'm sorry," said Lunamon. "I only know that she was last seen on Field Island many years ago".

"So then what's the problem? Let's get over there and find her!" suggested Tyler.

Lunamon's eyes sank to the floor. "I am afraid that task could be quite dangerous. Of three islands in String, Field Island has felt the curse of the Emerald Flame the most. Corrupted digimon have run rampant throughout the island and keeping them in quarantine is a struggle even for the most powerful digimon who still live there. The chances of you all being attacked are quite high".

"And what are our chances of finding our way home without the help of this priestess?" Joshua inquired.

"Forgive me," she answered. "I do not know of any other way".

"yeah, right," said Joshua dismissively.

Selena shot him quick glare before returning to Lunamon's side. "Hey Luna, how about you come with us! Maybe you can use your connection to find the other priestess,"

Joshua's head jerked up at Selena's suggestion. His disapproval was clear on his face but Selena ignored it. Lunamon stared up at Selena in surprise but then her usual calm smile reappeared on her face and she nodded her head. "I do believe that could done, at the very least I could help navigate you all throughout the island,"

"Then that's it. We go lookin' for this priestess!" declared Tyler. Everyone nodded in agreement except Joshua who shrugged his shoulders and began walking out of the hut.

"Where are you going?" Claire asked, stopping him for a moment.

"I'm going to check on Labramon," he answered before walking out.

"What's his problem?" asked Tyler.

"He's still adjusting to the whole "Digital World" thing and it's making him a bit nervous," answered Claire. "He was the last of us to make it here".

"Well he doesn't have to be so mean about it," said Selena.

"Though checking up on my new partner sounds good," said Tyler. "I might join myself".

"It would be wise to stay under the care of the villagers for the time being," stated Lunamon. "At least rest for the night, the wounds you sustained during the fight have not completely healed yet".

Tyler seemed ready to argue with her but instead sat back in his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Yeah, might as well".

"Lord Anthony, Lady Selena?" said Lunamon addressed the two of them. "As I said before, the journey we will be undertaking will be very dangerous so may I suggest that you find a guardian to protect you before we leave? Any digimon in the village would be elated if either of you chose them".

Straightaway a wide grin appeared on Tony's face. He nodded and turned toward the small digimon near the Tyler was in.

"Hey, anybody wanna to be my partner?" he asked.

The reaction was instantaneous. The little digmon hopped up to him to happily and began arguing or in some cases fighting, for his attention. Selena, on the other hand, seemed nervous.

"Um, Luna can I talk to you outside please?" she asked.

"Of course," Lunamon answered.

Outside the sound of the wind and waves greeted both of them as they walked through the village. The three moons of the Digital World shone brightly like jewels floating in a sea of stars. Selena was so completely overcome with their beauty that couldn't help shedding a tear.

"Is something wrong Lady Selena?" asked a concerned Lunamon.

"No, it's nothing really," she said as she wiped the tear from her face. "It's just that back home I never really got to stay outside much and now seeing all this with you and the others is just kinda overwhelming, you know? Besides, on Earth we only have one moon and it doesn't look as pretty as this".

"Those moons have a great cultural significance in this world," explained Lunamon. "The white moon is named Olympia and in ancient times it was said that a great civilization thrived there and was ruled over by a group of wise and powerful digimon".

"Olympia? That sounds like the mountain the Greek gods lived on,"

Lunamon's face took on a confused expression. "Who are the greek gods?"

"Oh, they were people who lived on a mountain in a place called Greece. Our myths say that they were all really strong and could do almost anything they wanted," Selena explained.

"Are these gods the rulers of your world?" Lunamon asked.

"No, they don't really exist but people used to tell stories about them and everybody wanted to be like them, well the ancient Greeks wanted to be like them anyway,"

"Then we are alike. Many digimon aspire to gain such power and maybe even the opportunity to create their own kingdom on the moon,"

"A kingdom on the moon…." Selena repeated.

"Yes, Olympia is symbol of hope and power for all digimon," said Lunamon. She then pointed her tiny hand up toward the night sky. "The blue moon is called The Far Ocean, most aquatic digimon consider it a symbol of the majesty of the sea and is thought to be the source of life in our world,".

"The red moon is the most mysterious of the three," Lunamon continued. "But it is considered to be the source of all evil which is why it's called the Eye of Wrath".

"Sounds scary," said Selena. "You think that's why we're here? To get it rid of that".

Lunamon shook her head. "No, your destiny is here not out there. The digital world must be destroyed and reborn not saved".

Selena turned to the tiny priestess. Ever since she came to the digital world she had admired the poise and control the little bunny displayed. All the other digimon looked to her for guidance and direction and the other humans hung on her every word except for Joshua but Selena thought he would come around eventually. So it was no surprise that her next question made her so nervous.

"Um, Luna, uh, Lunamon, would you…I mean if you want… would you…liketobepartnerswithme?" she blurted out.

"I'm sorry, Lady Selena, I could not understand you. Could you please restate your question?"

"Do you..," Selena started, she took a deep breath to steady herself. "Want to be partners…with me?"

Lunamon's eyes went wide at her question and she even did a little hop backwards in an unmistakably rabbit-like way. Selena stifled a giggle and waited for Lunamon to recover. When she did she cast her eyes to the ground in the way she always did when she was uncomfortable about something.

"Lady Selena," she began "I am sorry but I am afraid I must decline your offer. As the Shrine's priestess I have the responsibility of watching over it and the village. As the vessel of the Harmonious Ones' will I must carry out my duty to my fullest until I am ordered otherwise,"

This time it was Selena's turn to hang her head in disappointment and embarrassment. "I understand," was all she could muster.

"Please do not think of yourself as inferior to the others just because you have yet to find a guardian. There are many digimon in the village more than willing to accept you," Lunamon continued, putting as much reassurance in her voice as she could although she still couldn't keep her eyes of the ground.

"Yeah, you're right," Selena said, as she released a breath she hadn't known she was holding. She raised her arms above her head in a stretch and took one last look at the three alien moons.

"Could you do me one favor though?" she asked.

"What do you ask of me?"

"Could you stop looking down on yourself so much?"

Lunamon looked up at her in confusion. "I do not-"

"I'm serious," Selena interrupted. "Whenever you look down to the ground like that you make me feel like you doubt yourself, like you can't do anything. But here you are gathering all of us humans, giving us a place to sleep and eat, giving us a path to follow and even leading an entire village! I admire that about you. You should feel proud!"

For the second time that night the priestess of Image Island had to regain her poise from the teenage human's sudden outburst.

"You are too kind Lady Selena. Sometimes I feel so helpless, as if my life is nothing but a grain of sand in the wind,"

"We all feel that way sometimes trust me," said Selena with a wry grin on her face. She then let out a long yawn and rubbed her eyes. "Well I guess that's it for me. Time for bed!"

"Then I will retire shortly as well. In the morning we will gather supplies for tomorrow's journey. May the night bring you rest," said Lunamon in her characteristically proper manner.

Selena waved back to her and made her way toward one of the huts. The village digimon had been completely enamored with the humans since the day they started appearing on the island so she was sure she would have no trouble finding a place to sleep. In the meantime, the small priestess gazed up at her namesake with what would like to anyone else like pleading eyes. She stayed perfectly still and perked her enormous ears up as if listening for the smallest of voices.

"O, great preservers of the Digital World, if only it was truly your voice that guided my actions," she began. "My Sovereign, Everyone, Selena, please forgive me".

With that last prayer the priestess closed her eyes and resumed her motionless state, though she couldn't help but notice that on the very edges of her sensitive hearing she could hear someone laughing at her.

* * *

For the second time in her life Claire was forced out her drowsiness by her partner Biyomon. The disoriented human girl opened her aching eyes to meet the distinctive pink and blue plumage of her digimon as she flapped around the room wildly.

"Claire! Claire! Please wake up! We're under attack!" she cried.

Claire rubbed her eyes and stretched her limbs out. Her mind was still in a fog as she clumsily made her way out of bed.

"Buh, wha? But Dracomon, is he attacking?" she asked trying to fight through the malaise an interrupted sleep put her through.

"It's not Dracomon! Someone else is here and they've already deleted some of the villagers! We need you!"

That did it. Fear and shock shoved all thoughts of going back to sleep out her mind. Throwing on her clothes and grabbing her digivice, she sped out of the hut with Biyomon at her side. It wasn't long before she understood why her partner had been so frantic. Everywhere mobs of small digimon were running, bouncing, and crawling for their lives away from what looked like the entrance to the forest.

As she and Biyomon got closer they spotted Joshua, Tyler, Labramon, Dracomon and Lunamon running toward a group of strange digimon. The most noticeable one was probably the biggest digimon she had ever seen. It looked a huge blue T-Rex with red stripes, red head feathers and a red and white necklace draped around its neck. Flying over it four digimon that looked like giant bats were yelling to the humans and digimon on the ground.

"Bring out all the humans or our friend here will keep stomping this village flat until we find them!" one of the bat digimon yelled.

Immediately Claire pulled out her digivice and activated the scanner. The others followed suit and three holographic displays flickered to life in front of their eyes.

**Name: Allomon**

**Type: Dinosaur Digimon**

**Attribute: Data**

**Level: Armor**

The Dinosaur, Allomon, leaned down and bared its rows of razor-sharp teeth to the humans and Digimon. "Humans! Real Humans! This is perfect!" it said in a guttural growl.

Biyomon flew over to Labramon, Dracomon, and Lunamon to form a wall between the invaders and the rest of the village.

"Hey Pipismon, They already got partners!," yelled Allomon to the Pipismon flying overhead. "So if I kill them and load their data then I get to be their new partner right?"

"That's right! And don't forget there are three of them here and one of the weaklings told me there's two more still in this dump, one for each of us!" cried one of the Pipismon. "Do it just like you did to all those others that were here, walk all over them!"

Allomon grinned showing off the veritable cutlery set in its mouth. "It'll be easy!" he declared.

Claire brought up the card selection menu on her digivice and readied herself for battle.

"Biyomon! Let's crack them open like eggs!"

* * *

**And the Goggles have Landed!**

**So this was pretty much a character development chapter for Selena and Lunamon which took a little longer to write than I had originally intended. Hopefully you all still find it entertaining. I won't say much about the next chapter except for the obvious….**

_**Fight Scene!**_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Tangled Tactics

Claire stared at the towering digimon in front of her. It was obvious even without her digivice that this thing was on a higher level than Biyomon or the others and judging by the destruction it had already caused to the village defeating it would be a challenge at best.

In her hand she held the speed modify card that she had materialized from the HUD screen and was keeping it handy for the right moment to use it. There was no way she'd let this monster destroy the digimon that had been so nice to her since she came to this world. Besides, this was Biyomon's home!

"Biyomon! Let's crack them open like eggs!" she yelled.

Allomon took her battle cry as the signal to start attacking. He lowered his big blue head and bent his knees.

"You're going to wish you never got in my way!" he boasted. "Dynamite Head!

The ground shook as the big blue dinosaur heaved his body toward the digimon with surprising speed.

"Everyone get out of the way!" warned Tyler.

At the last moment their digimon jumped out of the path of Allomon's attack but instead of stopping it just continued on its way gaining speed. Finally it crashed into a broken down truck that one of the village digimon had converted into a house. Allomon's head slammed into it like a battering ram sending it tumbling along the beach. The trucks' momentum caused it to turn end over end in an endless barrel roll causing sand and debris to go flying in every direction. After a considerable distance it skidded through the sand and finally came to a stop. The attack had sent it so far that the only feature still visible on the vehicle was the huge dent it now sported on the side.

"Wow! Look at what he did!" said Labramon impressed by Allomon's display of strength.

"If we get hit with that attack we're done for!" cried Biyomon.

Lunamon covered her mouth with her paws as she gasped. "This is horrible! If this battle continues the village will torn apart!"

Dracomon simply stood his ground and stared at Allomon eagerly. "Strong"

Allomon turned toward the other digimon and flashed a toothy grin. "Every one of you is going to end up like that when I'm done!"

The Pipismon flying overhead couldn't help but marvel at the display of power.

"Uh, wow, glad he's on our side!"

"That thing flew farther than a Sparrowmon in migrating season!"

"He's the strongest digimon on the island of course!"

The Leader of the Pipismon Mob resisted the urge to gag at his comrade's praises. Even he had to admit Allomon had more "spirit" than he anticipated but that wasn't important. It was time to put his plan into action.

"Hey! Stop gawking and focus! I need at two of you to fly into the village to find the other two humans!"

"Who's going?" his three underlings said in unison.

"I'm staying here to make sure the fight goes our way and I only need two of you to find the humans so one of you can stay here,"

"But what if the humans have partners?" the closest to their leader asked.

"Idiot! If the other two had partners they'd be here fighting us! The fact that they aren't means they have no one protecting them which means they can't stop you!"

The three underlings looked at each other and smiled as they realized the opportunity that had appeared. Their leader pointed one of his clawed legs to his left.

"Just for that you stay here," he said. "While you two go into the village!"

"Got it!"

"Of course Boss!"

The two flew off then disappeared from sight as they searched for the two missing humans. The head Pipismon returned his attention to the battle and saw Allomon readying his next attack.

"I need this," he said to himself.

* * *

Tyler let out a whistle as he witnessed his new opponent's show of strength.

"Looks like this lizard's got an attitude!" Dracomon lets take him down!" he yelled to his new companion. Dracomon responded by charging Allomon with flames flickering in his mouth.

"Baby breath!" he cried as he shot a blazing fireball at the larger reptile. The attack connected and managed to singe the scales on the side of Allomon's face. Taking notice of the little dragon for the first time the Dinosaur digimon summoned flames of his own. The back of its throat lit up like a furnace as it released a stream of fire from its jaws.

"Dino Burst!" it roared. The flames licked at the sand angrily as it made its way toward its true target. Dracomon, seeing the path to the enemy temporarily blocked, backed off before the orange blaze could burn him and rejoined his partner's side.

"Hey Dracomon what are you doing? Aren't you fire-proof?" Tyler asked, surprised at his digimon's actions. "Can't you just walk through the fire?"

"Not smart. Fire too hot. Can't get close," Dracomon explained.

"Well go back out there and attack again! We're the strongest! We have to attack!" Tyler ordered.

Dracomon looked back at his enemy and saw it brushing off his new comrades' attacks and answering them with much stronger responses.

"Allomon not stupid. Will keep attacking so we can't attack. Need new plan,"

Tyler swore as he realized Allomon had them pinned down so long as it could use that fire attack. Unable to think of a plan he looked around. The once peaceful village had turned into a battlefield filled with flaming metal debris and demolished wooden huts. Then he got an idea.

"Hey Dracomon listen to this!" he said as he brought his digimon close and whispered into what he assumed were his ears.

"Stupid plan," stated Dracomon.

"You got anything better?" he said as they both were forced to duck behind a car to escape another fire stream. "'Cause I'd be glad to hear it!"

Dracomon shook his head. "No"

"Then let's get going!" Tyler commanded.

* * *

Joshua wiped the beads of sweat of his brow as he watched the battle with Allomon unfold. The fire-breathing dinosaur spewed flames at Labramon and the others forcing them on the defensive and making it nearly impossible to attack. The attacks that had gone through only seemed to scratch its blue, scaly hide and it wouldn't be too long before their partners became too exhausted to fight.

"Spiral Twister!" cried Biyomon as she sent a spiral of green flames toward Allomon. Luckily, the attack managed to catch the giant reptile as it was turning its head causing an attack that would've stricken its temple to hit its eye instead. Allomon roared in pain and belched red hot flames in the air hoping to burn Biyomon in a blind attack.

"That hurt!" it bellowed. "I'll roast the feathers off you for that!"

Biyomon smirked at his opponent, which was impressive given that she was a bird and should be incapable of such an expression, and called back.

"You'll have to catch me first!"

Allomon growled angrily and continued to fill the air with fire. Biyomon simply dove, landed, took off again and fluttered tantalizingly out of reach eliciting more sounds of frustration from her opponent. An idea flashed through Joshua's mind as he witnessed the fight. _"It seems to have a harder time trying to catch Biyomon in the air than it does with us on the ground. Hmm…if he were to get angry enough…"_

He looked to his left and saw Claire staring at Biyomon with a mixture expectation and worry. She was about reach her hand out to the HUD to draw a card until Joshua stopped her.

"Wait Claire! Don't draw the speed card yet!" Joshua yelled trying to make himself heard over the din of battle.

Claire whirled around in his direction and blinked at him in confusion. "But Biyomon's about to get hurt!"

"Tell her to land in front of that row of cars over there!" he yelled back while pointing in the direction he was trying to draw her attention to.

The now thoroughly confused girl followed his line of sight until her eyes rested on a mound of metal slabs, cars, trucks and even a refrigerator that seemed to be resting in a pile. She turned back to him with an even more confused expression.

"Why?"

Joshua ran over to her and spoke. "I've got a plan to take this guy down but I'll need both Labramon and Biyomon working together to do it," he explained.

She looked at him then back at Allomon. Biyomon had monopolized his attention with her taunts and her ability to fly putting her out of range. Currently the fight was at a stalemate but it was clear that Biyomon was beginning to fatigue. Labramon had taken the opportunity to attack but he just couldn't manage to do enough damage. If they didn't do something soon the fight wouldn't last much longer. Claire turned back to him and nodded.

"What about Tyler and Dracomon? What are they going to do?" she asked.

"Nothing hopefully, Tyler's too reckless and his digimon is a huge unknown. We have to do this ourselves,"

Claire considered his words for a moment then nodded. "Fine, so what's the plan?"

* * *

As she watched her once serene village being attacked by those savage digimon Lunamon wished she had planned an escape. All around her fires and the broken remains of former homes littered the sandy soil and the terrified screams of the digimon she had sworn to guide filled her sensitive ears. The humans and their guardians were valiantly engaging the enemy and giving the other villagers a chance to escape so what reason did she have for not fighting with them?

Keeping herself as unnoticeable as possible she crept to the side of the rampaging Allomon. Biyomon had completely captured his attention which gave her the perfect chance to strike. She took aim at Allomon's head and concentrated her power to the tip of the antennae on her forehead.

"Tear Shot!" she cried as water gathered into a sphere and shot out at Allomon. The globe of liquid rocketed toward the enemy digimon's head but was swatted into droplets by a casual swipe of Allomon's claws; he hadn't even acknowledged the attack as his eyes were still permanently set on the frustratingly elusive Biyomon. Seeing that she was clearly outmatched she backed away and hid behind a rusty refrigerator. _"What was I thinking?"_ she thought to herself. _"I don't stand a chance against Allomon and even the guardian digimon can't hurt him! The only chance we have now is to run away somewhere and hope Allomon and those Pipismon won't find us!"_

In her dejection Lunamon lowered her head and cast her gaze on the ground.

"Please forgive me Lady Selena. I do not have the bravery to honor my promise," she whispered to herself as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Now come on big boy I'll make it easy for you!" shouted a familiar voice. Lunamon wiped the tears from her eyes and glanced back at the battlefield from behind her hiding place. She was shocked to find Biyomon on the ground taunting her opponent with a series of rude gestures.

"Here I am on the ground Allomon! Even a moron like you should be able to catch me like this!" Biyomon goaded.

Allomon roared with a fury as hot his flames. "You little insect how dare you mock me! No one makes a fool of me!"

Biyomon answered him by turning her back to him and waving her right wing dismissively. "You're really boring you know that? I've been flying circles around you all day and all you've done is spit those little flames at me. Can't you do anything else?

The enraged reptile growled at the insolent little bird then lowered his head and set his legs in a wide stance. "I'll break that rude beak of yours to pieces you infuriating hen!"

Lunamon's eyes widened in shock. "_Had Biyomon gone mad? Allomon was going to attack! If she doesn't find a way to escape soon she'll be deleted like the rest!" _

Her disbelief of Biyomon's actions only worsened as she watched her tap her talons on the ground and feign yawning. "I'm waaaaaiiiiiitiiiiinnng!" she said, drawing out the last word for effect.

That was it. Allomon gave one last bellow before charging at his enemy full speed. "Dynamite Head!"

It was then that Lunamon realized the obvious. For some reason Biyomon had wanted Allomon to charge at her, maybe she had a plan but what she didn't know was that the refrigerator she was standing in front of was the same one Lunamon was using to hide behind. I f she didn't rush out and warn Biyomon they'd both be crushed! Summoning what little courage her digital heart had she leapt out of hiding and landed at her fellow digimon's side. She expected that her hasty entrance would cause surprise from Biyomon, after all she had just jumped in front of a charging Allomon, but she couldn't have expected to find Lord Tyler there too adding to the mounting bewilderment the three now shared.

Biyomon's feathers ruffled in absolute astonishment. "Why are-

"You guys- the human boy continued.

"Here?" finished Lunamon.

The moment seemed to last forever as the three stood frozen in place like a deer caught in the headlights of an approaching Eighteen-wheeler. Only the sound of another familiar voice snapped them out of their stupor.

"Digi-Modify!"

* * *

Joshua watched as Biyomon expertly goaded the Allomon into position. The once confident Dinosaur-like creature now looked ready to chew its own arms off if it meant it could get its claws on her. Then he saw the Allomon lowering its head and widening its stance to begin its attack. "_Perfect, he's forgotten all about Labramon, now I just the right timing,"_ he thought.

In his hand was the card he had drawn from his HUD. All he had to do was scan it and let the laws of physics take care of the rest. Hopefully those laws hadn't changed too much. Finally Allomon pushed off with those enormous legs of his to attack.

"Labramon now!" he called. Labramon obediently ran in close to Allomon's attack corridor and inhaled deeply.

Joshua couldn't help but smile. "Good boy," he said to himself before swiping the card through the card reader.

" Digi-Modify!" he yelled out. "Data Killer activate!"

Immediately the soft green glow of the card's power enveloped Labramon who knew now that it was time unleash the attack.

"Retriever Bark!" he howled. Labramon's voice, now amplified many times over, became a roar as the pressure waves whipped up sand, stone and metal. Traveling at the speed of sound, the attack struck the legs of the raging Dinosaur mid-stride. The effect was both immediate and debilitating, Allomon quickly felt a painful vibration in his legs that only seemed to get worse with every split-second that passed. When his right leg hit the ground the damage caused his entire body to lurch to the side. He tried to right himself but his left leg was suffering the same fate as his right and he couldn't change direction or stop because he was moving too fast. Finally his lower body folded and his bulk collapsed to the ground and since he still had momentum he was forced to watch helplessly as his body skidded into three blurry figures he couldn't make out.

When the Allomon had fallen to the ground Joshua was ready to leap for joy. His plan had worked perfectly so far now all he needed was Claire to swipe the speed card so Biyomon could get out of the way.

"Digi-Modify!" Claire screamed. "Speed activate now, Now, NOW!"

Fear crept into the boy's heart as he heard his comrade's desperate screams. _"Why was she yelling? We're winning, we…"_ his thoughts trailed off as he finally saw what had terrified Claire so much. Biyomon wasn't alone in the path of the fallen enemy; somehow Tyler and Lunamon had appeared there with her and they were about to be pulverized against the Allomon's out of control body.

"Get out of the way!" yelled Joshua at the top of his lungs.

Time slowed to a crawl as the horrible scene played out in front of him. He knew that Tyler wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time and Lunamon had been caught completely by surprise by the whole turn of events. The only thing he could hope for was for Biyomon to use to her speed. She didn't disappoint. Using the enhanced swiftness granted to her by the card she hopped to the side so that the human and the island's priestess were lined up in a row then pushed them with all her might. The three bodies blurred together in a flurry of motion which was then followed by the loud crash of the Allomon colliding with the mound of junk metal ahead of it. The metal mound exploded, throwing fragments of once intact structures in every direction. It seemed as if nothing alive could've escaped such an intense impact until two bodies emerged from the mayhem and flopped on the ground like fish out of water. The larger of the two pushed himself up from the ground and spat sand out of his mouth, Likewise the smaller one stood up and looked around trying to regain her bearings.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Tyler in a fit of confusion.

"Biyomon saved us! " Lunamon answered. "Oh, what has happened to her?"

"Biyomon! Biyomon where are you?" cried Claire as she ran toward the wreckage. Joshua and Labramon followed suit and began moving debris out of the way trying to find their comrade.

"Please be alright!" she pleaded desperately. "Biyomon!"

The three of them searched tirelessly until they came upon a large, flat metal slab that had buried itself in the side of a small sand dune. It didn't look any different from the rest of the wreckage but then Claire ran toward it with a renewed vigor and began pulling it to the side.

"What are you doing?" asked Joshua.

"Biyomon's under there!" Labramon declared as he rushed toward to the slab. "I can smell her!"

The three began pulling with whatever strength they could muster but the two humans weren't strong enough to completely lift it and Labramon was too exhausted from the fight. Just then Tyler, Lunamon and Dracomon appeared alongside them and helped lift the hunk of metal.

"Heave!" Tyler cried out as the seven of them lifted the slab off the ground. Underneath the block of iron, lying completely still and covered in bruises was Biyomon. A gasp escaped her tamer's mouth as she dropped to her knees and cradled her partner in her arms.

"Biyomon!" the distraught girl chocked out as tears stung her eyes. Suddenly, for a split second, Biyomon's body moved. Not normally like an injured animal but it looked as if every atom in her body moved individually, like she was coming apart. Seeing this, Claire's sodden eyes turned to the others.

"What's happening to her?"

The others didn't answer. The digimon likely knew but the look on their faces told her they didn't like it one bit. After an unbearable moment of silence Joshua finally spoke up.

"Claire, she's…she's being… deleted," said Joshua.

Claire clutched Biyomon to her chest and stared at him. "What does that mean?" she asked. Then her expression turned to anger. "You knew this would happen didn't you!"

"No! Oh, god Claire I didn't mean for this to happen! Please you have to believe me!"

"Then what is it? Was this part of your plan? Let Biyomon sacrifice herself just so we can hurt Allomon?"

Joshua shrank under Claire's questions despite himself. "It wasn't my fault!" he declared. "Tyler and Lunamon are the ones who got in the way! If they hadn't been there Biyomon could've gotten out in time!"

Tyler whirled on him. "You're blaming me? I had a plan of my own genius! And it sure as hell didn't involve letting my friends take the fall for me!" he retorted.

"Everyone please don't fight like this!" pleaded Lunamon but her wishes fell on deaf ears.

"The enemy approaches, Sire," said Dracomon.

"What plan? Run out and get yourself killed trying to fight a digimon by yourself? How many times do you have to get knocked around before it gets through your thick head? They're stronger than you Tyler! Even the weaker ones could put you on your ass!" Joshua spat back.

"And being a coward is so much better! Look around you Josh this is what happens when you can't handle being a leader!"

"They are coming," Dracomon warned again.

"No, this is what happens when a cocky jerk wants to play hero and do everything by himself!" Joshua shot back.

"Maybe I should have! That's why starting today we're following my lead and if you don't like it you can just go back where you came from and leave the rest of us alone!"

"Sire!" said Dracomon.

"What?" said Tyler finally acknowledging his partner's presence.

"Baby breath!" the little dragon digimon cried as he sent a fireball into the air behind the group.

"Ow! That was close!" came a voice from above them.

Hovering in the air above them were two digimon that looked like giant bats with sickles for limbs. The smaller one was trying to fly while easing the pain of its slightly singed wing while the larger looked down at them with increasing contempt.

"Idiot! I told you to keep quiet so we could attack them without being spotted! Now we have to do things the hard way!" admonished the larger bat digimon.

Joshua recognized the two instantly and glared angrily at them. "You!" he yelled.

"Why hello again boy. Are you regretting letting us escape yet?" asked the larger Pipismon with smugness practically dripping from his fangs. "The Digital World is not so kind as to let those who don't learn their lesson the first time live long,"

The four humans and three digimon stood transfixed as they faced yet another enemy.

"This time there will be no mistakes!" it declared as it rose in the air slightly then came in for a dive.

"Attack!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Stand and Shout

Anthony Jameson wasn't a brave kid. He'd been that way all of his life and as long as his parents were around he never needed to change. He wasn't a fighter but he looked up to people who were and right now he sorely needed one. Right now he and Selena were huddled in a corner along with a group of digimon waiting for any kind of news on the battle outside. They got their wish when a slimy, pink digimon with arms burst through the door.

"Motimon! What's going on?" asked a Koromon, eager for any kind of news.

"Allomon and the humans are fighting! And two of those Pipismon are flying around looking for Tony and Selena!" said Motimon.

Selena clasped her mouth with her hands and gasped. "What are we going to do?"

Tony felt the fear in the older girls' voice and knew something had to be done. Those digimon out there were searching for him and Selena and if what the other digimon were saying was true then they were willing to kill the villagers just to find them! They had to be stopped! They were heroes weren't they?

"We gotta go out and fight!" answered Tony with as much conviction as he could muster.

"Tony no! If we go out there we'll be killed! We need to stay here," Selena argued.

Tony shook his head and ran toward the door. "We have to fight! I…we…we just have to!" he shouted before taking off.

"_What am I doing?"_ thought Tony. _"Tyler's the one who can jump into danger not me!"_

As Tony rushed out onto the beach the effects of the battle with the invaders was made real. Nearly every villager had scrambled out of their homes in search of safety and the ones that were left were staring off toward the forest where the battle with Allomon raged.

"Tony over here!" called out a voice.

Tony turned toward where he though the voice was coming from and saw a Wanyamon as well as a Nyaromon, a Pagumon, a Poyomon and a Metalkoromon hiding under a truck. He ran to them and knelt down so he could talk.

"What are you guys doing under here?" he asked.

"What does it look like? We're hiding dummy!" a Pagumon answered angrily. "Now pipe down before those Pipismon hear us! They've got really big ears you know!"

"You should be showing a little more respect Pagumon!" a Nyaromon responded. "He's one of the humans who are going to save us and resurrect the world so I suggest you be quiet!

Pagumon scoffed and turned away from the others. "Hmph! I'm still right".

Suddenly the cries of the fellow villagers as well as shouts of "Crazy Sonic Blaster" and "Sky Jacker" filled the air.

"They're here!" the three in-training digimon yelped in surprise. The Poyomon merely whimpered in fear while the Metalkoromon flashed a light from its tail in a way Tony assumed meant it was scared.

"Quick get under here!" cried Pagumon as he and the other digimon grabbed Tony dragged him under the truck. The unexpected move caused the boy to cough up sand as he tried to reposition himself so that his face fell lined with the other digimon.

Pagumon used one his ears as a hand and covered his mouth with a makeshift "finger" meaning they needed to be quiet as possible.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" shouted one of the Pipismon as it flew by the truck they were hiding under.

"We'll find ya eventually!" its partner added.

Tony and the lesser digimon observed warily as the Pipismon circled the area like vultures and waited for them to move on.

"Let's try flying higher," one of the bat digimon suggested. "We'll be able to spot the humans easier from up there.

The other one nodded and together they ascended higher in to the air and out of view for Tony and the others. For a brief moment a sigh of relief escaped from the group as the danger receded, that is until a familiar face wandered out in the open.

"Tony! Tony where are you?" shouted a familiar female voice. Tony's heart skipped a beat as he realized how much trouble Selena had put herself in.

"Tony come back!"

"Tony come back!" a mocking, high-pitched voice mimicked. Tony watched Selena jump in surprise as the Pipismon swooped down and hovered right in front of her.

"Well that was fast!" declared the other Pipismon. "We didn't even have to fly over the whole village to find one of them!"

Selena was shaking like a tree in a hurricane as she watched her pursuers draw ever closer to her. Tony could hear her trying to say something but it was either too quiet or too garbled for him to understand.

"Now just stay right there little human while we uh.., " the once threatening giant bat now seemed confused as if it had forgotten something important. "We uh.., what do we do again?"

The forgetful digimon's partner rolled its eyes and swiped the flat side of its sickle-claw at the other one's head. "We make sure she can't escape and then find the other one, of course!"

Suddenly, Selena whirled her body around and sprinted away from the Pipismon. "Somebody! Help me!" she cried.

"Now look what you did!" said the annoyed bat as it flapped its leathery wings and gave chase. It took no time at all for it to close the distance. "You know human you look a little tired from running. You should take a rest…"

"Crazy Sonic Blaster!" it screeched as high frequency sound waves erupted from its mouth. The pressure waves enveloped the hapless girl causing her to clasp her ears in pain and fall to her knees.

"Selena!" Tony cried in sympathy but then Pagumon quickly covered Tony's mouth with his prehensile ears to muffle them.

"Quiet will ya! They'll hear you!" the little digimon warned with harsh whisper.

"But Selena… she's-"

"And what are you gonna do about it huh?" Pagumon interrupted. "You don't have a guardian digimon and you don't stand a chance against those Pipismon by yourself!"

"But Pagumon he…" started Nyaromon.

"No! Not this time. Look, I don't like this anymore than the rest of you but I think it's time we all face facts! We're weak and the weak get crushed! We've had it pretty good so far 'cause none of the stronger digimon bothered coming here but that's changed ever since the humans came here!"

"The humans are our salvation!" countered Nyaromon. "Have you forgotten the other three who are fighting Allomon right now? Have some faith in them!

All the other digimon nodded in agreement with Nyaromon while Metalkoromon beeped and flashed its tail light.

"Hmph!" scoffed Pagumon as he crossed his ears like arms and turned away. "Take a look at your "salvation" over there!"

The group turned in unison looked out from their hiding place. The Pipismon had surrounded Selena who was now lying on the ground in obvious pain.

"We got her," said one of the Pipismon. "What now?"

"hmm…" the other one hummed trying to think of something. "I know!"

The inspired bat took flight once more but this time hovered over Selena. "To any of you humans out there, if you don't come out right now we'll just have to keep to wailing on this girl until you do!"

The Pipismon on the ground seemed impressed. "That's genius!"

"Of course it is!" the Pipismon in the air declared.

"What do we do?" asked Wanyamon who like his fellow villagers had huddled together in fear.

"Nothing," stated Pagumon tersely.

Tony was beside himself with fear. If he didn't come out those flying rats would hurt Selena but if he did what then? Ever since he came to the Digital World he'd been told that he was special. Lunamon said that the Harmonious Ones, this world's gods, had chosen him and the others specifically because they were different than everyone else back home but what did any of that mean now? He'd spent all last night trying to find his guardian digimon but he never got a digivice like Tyler, Claire and the new guy did. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be here. Maybe the digital gods were supposed to choose some other kid and he got picked by mistake because if he was a real hero he'd be a better than this.

"Okay if you're not gonna come out I guess we'll just have to explain our point a little more clearly," The Pipismpon said as it brandished its sickles menacingly.

"_If I was a hero I'd be strong enough to fight those digimon off or I'd be smart enough to think of a plan to trick them or I'd come out and say something so cool they'd have to listen to me. If I was a real hero I couldn't just lie here and watch this!"_

"Okay if you humans really don't care about this one I guess she'll just get sliced up!" the smug sickle-bat said as it descended and aimed for the human girl's neck. "Tough luck human, I guess you must be the deadweight of the group if they don't even care enough about you to come out!"

Selena's eyes widened at her attacker's words before closing them tightly.

"Heh, let's see them ignore this! Sky Ja-

"STOP!"

Startled, the Pipismon halted his attack mid-utterance and pulled away from his target just narrowly missing his victim's throat. Looking for the source of the voice both digimon turned toward a truck they had passed earlier. In front of it stood one of the humans they'd been searching for!

"Finally come out of hiding," said one of the bat digimon. "We'd thought you'd just go and let this one get cut to pieces!"

"No," said the frightened boy. "I…I won't let you hurt Selena anymore…I…I'll fight you!"

The Pipismon stared at each other then laughed in that grating high-pitched squeal of theirs. "You'll fight us? What can a human and a baby do to us?"

"I'm n-not a…a baby!" Tony retorted as best he could with his voice failing him. "I d-don't know what I have to do but whatever it is I'll do it!"

The Pipismon just continued to laugh at him until a familiar beeping noise coming from his left shoe caught his attention. Tony looked down and was astonished to find Metalkoromon sliding around his feet.

"Metalkoromon what are you doing here?" asked Tony.

The little robot answered him with a series of rapid beeping and flashing of its tail light. Somehow Tony was getting an impression of what the infant digimon was trying to tell to him.

"You want to fight too? But your just a baby what can you do?"

This time Metalkoromon answered by flashing its light and moving ahead of him. Understanding blossomed in his mind as he realized the simple truth it was trying to tell him.

"You're right," said Tony with a small smile appearing on his face. "We do what we can,"

For a moment the two were completely silent before a burst of light exploded into existence.

"Hey, what's going on?" asked one of the Pipismon bewildered at what he was he was seeing.

"Not again!" said the other one as it tried to shield its eyes from the radiance.

Likewise Tony tried to shield his eyes from the miniature star in front of him. He couldn't see much he could just make out that the light was beginning to split itself in two. In a few moments one big light became two smaller ones that then zipped toward Tony one of them landing on his ear and the other attaching itself to its waist. When the light finally receded he reached one of his hands to his ear and felt the cool metal head piece against his fingers. Likewise he reached down and took the larger part of the device in his hands. He couldn't believe it.

"A digivice!" he shouted. "I got a digivice! That means I..I…yes! Metalkoromon do you see this ? I, whoa!"

Tony's sounds of joy ended abruptly when he noticed that his would be partner was now glowing with the same light as he his new digivice had.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" both Pipismon squealed.

"**MetalKoromon digivolve to…Kapurimon!"**

As those words the tiny metal digimon's body began to grow. The small tail it has used as a form of communication thickened, lengthened and softened as it took on the appearance of a raccoon tail. Its main body sprouted two pointy metal horns that were attached to a helmet. When the light finally died down Tony could see the drastic changes his new partner had undergone. Instead of a little robot it new resembled a small limbless animal wearing a metal cap. Instantly, his new digivice whirred to life and generated a holographic image in front of him.

**Name: Kapurimon**

**Attribute: None**

**Level: in-training**

**Type: Lesser Digimon**

The Pipismon were just as surprised to see this transformation as he was and they showed it by flying into the air.

"It happened again! Just like that other one!" one of them cried.

"The boss is not gonna like this, of course. That means the girl is the only one without a partner,"

"Wait we can still win! That new guardian is just an in-training level so we can just delete him!"

"Oh no you don't!" shouted a female voice.

Both Pipismon turned toward the voice and saw a group of small digimon emerging from the same truck the human crawled out of. Standing in front of it now were three more in-training level digimon and a small, white digimon that looked like it was a baby.

"We're tired of you destroying our village and hurting our friends! You guys are gonna leave right now!" yelled the little yellow digimon.

The bat-scythe digimon simply snorted in frustration. "So what? Do you really think you weaklings can stop us?"

Suddenly more digimon emerged from the rubble and debris. Soon they were surrounded by dozens of digimon and they did not look happy.

"What is this? Where'd they all come from?" asked one of the Pipismon.

"They popped out of the woodwork, of course!" answered the other Pipismon nervously.

"Tony,"

Hearing his name called Tony responded. "Uh,Metalko-, I mean Kapurimon?"

"I have the enemy in my sights. Shall I proceed in my attack?"

"Uh, sure, go ahead Kapurimon," said Tony.

Kapurimon then stared straight at both of the Pipismon. The metallic horns on its head began vibrating like a tuning fork and a low hum that steadily rose in volume and pitch emanated from the lesser digimon.

"**Howling Hertz!**" yelled Kapurimon.

At first both Pipismon seemed unaffected by the newly evolved digimon's attack but it wasn't long before they noticed that it was getting more difficult to flap their wings to stay in the air. Try as they might their bodies lost feeling and both digimon fell to the ground like apples falling from a tree.

"I…can't…move!" The pipismon squealed.

"Inducing paralysis through high-frequency resonance," stated Kapurimon. "Analysis of enemy targets suggests tactic is effective".

"Wow," said Tony impressed by his new partner's ability.

"Everyone! They can't move! Now's our chance to attack!" shouted Nyaromon as she and the other digimon puffed themselves up like balloons spat out countless pink bubbles.

"What's going on?" asked Selena as she came out of her stupor.

"All the digimon are attacking those bats together!" answered Tony with heightened spirits. "I don't think they can get out of this one!"

"You've got that right look at all those bubbles!" said Selena.

"It actually worked!" yelled Wanyamon. "Look!"

The bubbles from the villager's attacks had congregated into a mountain of pink foam leaving no trace of the invaders.

"We won!" declared Nyaromon triumphantly. Instantly the human teenagers were surrounded with whoops and cries of victory. Then Nyaromon hopped up to Tony and Selena with a wide smile dominating her face.

"And we have you to thank Tony. If weren't for you sticking up to those Pipismon we'd never have the courage to stand for ourselves!"

Tony shook his head. "I didn't do anything. You guys could've done it without me,"

This time Nyaromon shook her head, or body in her case, and answered back. "One of the powers of humans is the ability to inspire digimon. You came out of hiding even though you knew you could get hurt but you did it anyway to save your friend".

She then turned to Kapurimon who had just bounced up to Tony's side. "And thank you too Kapurimon, I think me and the rest of the village all agree you'll make the perfect partner. We wish you all the best!"

Kapurimon said nothing but Tony could swear he saw the little half-metal digimon blushing.

"Hah, you guys are so quick celebrate!" shouted a condescending voice from the crowd. A familiar red eyed, grey furred digimon slid up to the group with a dismissive demeanor. "Have you all forgotten about Allomon already?"

"Pagumon! Why do you always have to be so negative? Can't you see we've defeated an enemy anfdgained another guardian?" asked Nyaromon, her good mood ruined by Pagumon's words.

"Hey somebody has to remind everyone about the really powerful digimon that's still out there tearing our home to pieces! Or have you all forgotten that?"

The once uplifting cries of the digimon died down as the logic of Pagumon's words sunk in,

"So what if the human has found another guardian? He's still just an in-training level like most of us! What are they going to do against Allomon?

"We'll do what we can," answered Tony. "Right Selena?"

Flustered for a moment, she hesitated before nodding yes.

"Right Kapurimon?" Tony asked.

"Affirmative!" he yelled and his place in front of Tony.

"We'll all be waiting for you when you get back!" shouted Nyaromon. "Won't we?" she asked as she turned to Pagumon with a smug smile on her face,"

Pagumn said nothing, whirled around and crossed his ears with a loud "Hmph!"

And with that the trio began running off toward the forest with renewed sense of purpose of hope.

"_Don't worry guys! Help's on the way!"_ thought Tony as he and his friends rushed into battle.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Battle on the Beach

Claire Sinclair knelt down and cradled her partner Biyomon in her arms. It seemed impossible that that the little pink bird who had become her friend in such short amount of time could have such a huge effect on her. When she first came to the Digital World Biyomon was the one who had shown her just what agreeing to her little brother's demonic doll's deal had meant. All of a sudden she was on some alien planet with strange talking animals that worshipped her as some kind of savior with no way of knowing if she'd ever see her friends or family again. It all would have overwhelmed her if she didn't have her partner by her side to keep her calm. So is it any surprise that the thought of losing Biyomon made Claire feel alone and helpless?

She could feel the pink bird's body shift and come apart as if she was just a stuffed toy with its stiches torn. If she focused her hearing enough she could still hear her breathing but it was shallow and weak.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say this scene looks familiar. Don't you think so human?" the larger Pipismon asked Joshua with a wicked grin.

Joshua didn't answer but the talking bats' familiarity with him didn't miss Tyler.

"You know these guys?" Tyler asked.

Joshua nodded. "Labramon and I fought them in the forest before we came to the village. When we beat them I told them that we'd let them go if they left us alone,"

"And I told you that you still failed to understand how the Digital World works. You thought that just because you allowed us to live after our fight we would be grateful to you. Well I'll let you in on a secret human! You're the reason we came to this village in the first place!"

This time both Claire and Tyler stared at Joshua expecting some kind of answer.

"Why?" asked Joshua. "What could I possibly give you that you'd be willing to do all of this?"

"You can make us digivolve!" the smaller Pipismon chimed in.

"My subordinate is correct. Our altercation in the forest proved that you have a power that us digimon crave. In this world strength is everything and only those with the most of it ever experience true freedom while those without it simply cease to exist. When I heard about you human creatures I thought surely such an ability was just a comforting myth but having seen it with my own eyes I had no choice but to find a way to become your partner by any means necessary. Which brings us to Allomon…"

"Let me guess, you promised him that he'd get a human partner if he helped you attack the village" Joshua accused.

"Now you're learning! Good! Then I can make this simple. Surrender to us and allow us to absorb your partner's data or else we'll take it and you by force!" said Pipismon as he delivered his ultimatum.

"To hell with that!" Tyler yelled back. "Dracomon! Take them down!"

The little dragon readily obeyed by shooting a fire ball at the largest Pipismon. The smug bat gracefully dodged the attack and smirked back at the group.

"Was that all? Because if it was you should be begging us to replace those weaklings you call partners!"

Dracomon growled angrily at the pair while Tyler mimicked his partner with his own expression of frustration.

"Dracomon! Keep going! Knock'em out of the sky!" Tyler commanded.

Dracomon continued to fire salvos of flaming spheres at his targets but the wide space the air was giving them made dodging the attacks all too simple.

Joshua watched the battle with increasing unease as the reality of their predicament made itself clear to him. Dracomon was tough, as he had proven when he was able to keep both Labramon and Biyomon at bay for a while when they first met, but unless something changed quickly he would fatigue soon. That meant only Labramon and Lunamon were left. Stealing a quick glance to his right Joshua saw that his partner was putting on a brave face but he was obviously still exhausted from the fight with Allomon meaning only Lunamon would be left. Joshua hadn't known the priestess for very long or seen her fight but she didn't look like the fighting type and she'd still be at a disadvantage with an aerial enemy. They had to switch tactics.

"Tyler, tell Dracomon to stop! The Pipismon are just trying to tire him out before they counterattack!"

"I know but all he needs is one good shot!" Tyler said back while trying to keep his growing frustration in check.

"That's not going to work! Here, try accessing your digivice's card menu and then-"

"Look just worry about your own digimon dude! We got this!" Tyler interrupted. Joshua grudgingly obliged and turned toward Labramon.

"Idiot," he mumbled under his breath. Fine, if dragon boy wants to be stubborn then I have no choice but to get Lunamon and Labramon back in the fight. It won't be long before the Pipismon start eyeing Biyomon and Claire as an easy target.

"Lunamon!" he called out to the priestess. "Do you have an attack that'll work on these guys?"

Lunamon thought for a moment then nodded her head. "Yes, but I'm afraid it neither has the power nor the speed of Dracomon's attack,"

"That doesn't matter. You haven't attacked yet, maybe we can catch them by surprise,"

Lunamon nodded then took aim by raising her antenna at the flying forms of the Pipismon.

"Tear Shot!" she cried as a small globe of water materialized, launched itself from her forehead and flew toward one of the Pipismon. For a moment it looked like the liquid projectile might just hit its target but right before the attack could connect the bat digimon banked to the side and giggled mockingly at his foes below.

"Hey boss this is getting boring can't we just delete them now?" asked the smaller Pipismon.

"For once we think alike. Time to collect our prize!" said the head Pipismon as he and his subordinate flew close together and opened their wide mouths.

"Crazy Sonic Blaster!" they screeched in unison. Terrible, high frequency sound waves assaulted the ears of human and digimon alike causing them to fall to the ground in pain. Dracomon was the only exception as he weathered the attack as best he could by blocking his ears.

"Think you're pretty tough huh, ya big lizard!" teased the smaller Pipismon. "Hey boss lets hit him again!"

Once again both digimon unleashed their sonic attack against the group. Waves of sand were kicked up and not one of their adversaries showed any sign of evading except Dracomon who was the only one left standing.

"This one seems more resilient than the others. Most rookies would've fallen by now after an attack from the two of us but this one is different somehow," said the larger Pipismon as he pondered aloud.

"No matter, he may be able to stand now but we'll wear him down eventually.,"

Suddenly a low rumble emanating from the village stole the combatant's attention. Both the humans and the digimon looked toward the sound's source and were astonished at what they saw. A large, blue-scaled dinosaur reminiscent of a T-rex rose from the ruins of the village and released a primal roar. He quickly sniffed the air for a bit before turning its attention further along the beach and toward the site of the battle. When he spotted them he let loose a vicious growl before making his way toward the now nearly hapless partner digimon and the nearly victorious Pipismon.

"Well never mind then," said the larger Pipismon as he watched the scene of his comrade overcoming his injuries. "Looks like our associate would like to spend more quality time with you,"

Claire braced herself for another wave of pain as the Pipismon's attacks battered her ears and shook her body. She did everything she could to protect Biyomon from the worst of the onslaught but even the indirect hits were beginning to wear away at her. They had to get away from all this somehow. From the moment those bats started threatening her and the others she had promised herself they'd never get near Biyomon.

"Claire?" came a weak voice from her arms.

Claire opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred by the vibrations the screeching produced in her body and her hearing was almost completely gone from the sonic assault but she hoped that the voice she heard was none other her partner's. She brought the weakened bird as close to her as possible so she could hear.

"Cl…Claire?"

"Biyomon!" the frightened girl dared to shout in excitement. "You're O.K.!"

"I'm…sor…sorry…" Biyomon whimpered.

"What?"

"I'm…sorry…I…can't fight for you…I failed,"

Tears welled up in Claire's soft brown eyes. "What do you mean failed? You've never failed me,"

"But I…I'm supposed to be your guardian…I'm supposed to be stronger than this…"her words trailed off as her body convulsed and destabilized.

"Don't talk Biyomon just stay down,"

"No! I waited my whole life for this! I always dreamed of meeting…a human and being a guardian.

"Biyomon,"

"I just wanted to prove I was worthy of you," the distraught bird cried. "And now look at me!"

Claire clutched her companion tighter. "Biyomon stop,"

"You should just let me disappear! At least if I'm gone you can find someone better!" she cried as another wave of static coursed through her feathery body.

"I SAID STOP IT!" Claire screamed with a voice full of frustration and fear. Behind them a loud and terrifyingly familiar roar silenced all noise. She dared to turn and face whatever the monster she hoped was still down making sure her wounded partner was still close to her. The reaction from her companions and even the Pipismon told her all she needed to know. Rapidly approaching them, with legs thundering across the sandy soil of the beach, was Allomon and judging by the fierce expression on his face he was not happy.

"COME AND FIGHT ME!" he bellowed as he charged toward the group.

Tyler looked at the rapidly approaching dinosaur and then back at his supposed teammates' terrified faces and for once he agreed with them.

"Run!"

Joshua was the first to heed the call as he and Labramon took off in the direction of the ocean. Catching on to his idea Tyler, Dracomon and Claire followed him.

"No running!" roared Allomon as his focused on the targets of his own seething rage. "Dino Burst!"

A stream of scorching flames leaped from the angry mouth of the dinosaur digimon and flew at the fleeing humans and their digimon. Joshua and Labramon were the furthest away from the attack but Allomon had chosen his target well and his hungry flames were about to descend on the frightened boy.

"Josh stop!" cried Labramon as he sensed the danger coming for his partner but Joshua was too frightened and kept running toward the water as if it was his only salvation.

"_If he doesn't stop now he's going to get deleted! What do I do?_"Labramon thought to himself. Through the ever closing window of opportunity an idea struck him. He immediately hated it but he knew he didn't have a choice. _"I hope it doesn't hurt too much"_ thought Labramon as he opened his mouth and bit down on Joshua's right leg. He yelped in pain and fell to the ground in a sandy heap just before a river of fire soared over his head and set the ground before him ablaze.

Joshua clutched his leg in pain as he watched the fires that would have burned him to a crisp flicker hungrily at him.

"I'm sorry Josh! I had to!" the white canine said pleading for his partner to forgive him. Joshua looked at Labramon then back at the fire burning in front of him. He said nothing and instead nodded at him in understanding.

"Nowhere to run!" declared Allomon triumphantly. "You all have caused me so much trouble. At first I thought you'd put up a little fight and then I'd come in, stomp your digimon into the ground and take you for myself. It could have all been so simple if you just given up back then. BUT YOU JUST HAD TO MAKE MAD!"

The enraged dinosaur smacked his tail on the ground to punctuate his last words. "Now I still need one of you to become my partner but to make all this worthwhile I only want the strongest of you,"

Allomon reared back and set his mouth ablaze with one of his typical fire attacks but instead of releasing like he had before he held it there and let it burn like a wildfire.

"This is my strongest attack," Allomon said. His voice slightly muffled by the flames. "What will you do against it? Will you hide behind your shields and hope you survive or will you stand and burn?"

"What'd he say?" asked the confused but still defiant Tyler.

"He's giving us a choice," Joshua responded. "Use our digimon as shields to protect ourselves and let them get destroyed or we all get killed".

At the sound of his words Biyomon used what little energy she had remaining to wrestle herself free from Claire's grasp.

"Biyomon what are you doing?"

The little pink digimon stood in front of her on shaky legs and spread her beaten wings out wide in an obvious to shield from the oncoming attack.

"Claire listen to me," she pleaded. "I know that we've become friends since the time you've come here and I know you want us to stay partners but…" she choked on her last word as emotion welled up from within her. "You have a duty to fulfill. You can't let me hold you back from that! I know it's hard now but it's for the best if you have strongest guardian for the job".

Claire's mouth fell open at her words but she was left speechless.

"This world doesn't need another Biyomon, it needs you! That's why you have to live!"

To her surprise Claire wrapped her arms around her and held her to her chest. "Don't do this!" she pleaded. "Don't leave me and make me a slave to that monster! Please!"

Time slowed to a crawl as a strange sensation overtook Claire's body. For a moment she was stricken with terror with the thought of being on fire but that fear faded as she realized that she wasn't burning, instead she felt warm and energized.

"Holy!" Tyler began as he watched with amazement at what was happening to Claire. Her body was covered with…something. He didn't know what it was but it looked like she was burning in slow motion. As if she was a lit match with a rose-colored flame instead of the familiar red-orange.

Claire's transformation left both human and digimon alike speechless. Biyomon watched the human girl who had given her a new purpose in life in awe as the strange energy began to wrap itself around her.

"I feel so strange all of a sudden," stated Biyomon as her body began to radiate a soft golden glow.

Flying in on the scene, both Pipismon had time to gape in fear at the familiar golden light coming from the bird digimon. "Allomon! You idiot! Attack them now before it's too late!" commanded the larger of the pair.

Realizing something was amiss the giant reptile released the fires he'd been chewing on.

"Dino Burst!" he roared as he sent scorching flames upon the glowing human and her partner causing them to disappear behind a wall of flames.

"Are they gone?" asked the smaller Pipismon with a rising confidence but his hopes were burned to cinders as a prescence parted the angry sea of flames and a triumphant voice rose from its depths.

"**Biyomon digivolve to…Birdramon!**"

At the call of her new name, Birdramon swept the smothering blaze aside revealing the stunning firebird in all her fiery glory.

"Ugh," moaned Claire as she awoke from a sudden stupor. "Biyomon is that you?"

"It's Birdramon now," she answered back in a much more mature yet bestial voice. "And don't worry, with the strength you've given me getting rid of him will be easy,"

Claire stared up at her now much taller partner and smiled. "Thank you,"

Birdramon nodded then shot a fierce glare at Allomon. The blue dinosaur looked flabbergasted at what had just happened in front of him.

"The legend is true. The humans really can make us digivolve," he stated flatly before donning a feral and malicious grin. "I want them. Give them to me. NOW!"

In response Birdramon flapped her huge wings and rushed at Allomon.

"Fire Flapping!" she screeched as she directed the flames on her wings to envelop her enemy. Allomon roared in agony before biting down on Birdramon's right wing trying to get her to back off. Squawking in pain she withdrew from her adversary's range before rearing back and raking her greatly enlarged talons across his face eliciting another howl of anguish.

"Woah! That's Biyomon? She's taking that scaly bastard apart!" exclaimed an amazed Tyler.

"Hey Josh, will I be that powerful when I digivolve?" asked Labramon. Seeing Biyomon digivolve had sent him into a hyperactive flurry of movement. "Go Birdramon!"

"You're asking me?" Joshua responded as he activated the scanning function on his headpiece. The now familiar sight of the HUD appeared and Birdramon's information came into view.

**Name: Birdramon**

**Level: Champion**

**Attribute: Vaccine**

**Type: Giant bird digimon**

"_Champion level? Just how powerful can these digimon get?"_ he thought while watching Birdramon rise high into the air and circle Allomon from above.

"Come down here and fight coward!" he demanded. Frustrated Allomon took his eyes away from the fight and spotted the humans watching from their spot on the beach.

"Fine! If you won't come down I'll just go after your pet human instead!"

Allomon lowered his head, settled into his usual stance and took aim at the humans.

"No!" screeched Birdramon as she dove for the ground then flew toward Allomon. Fire bird and dinosaur swallowed the distance between each other in moments coming ever closer to the inevitable collision. At the last moment Birdramon gave one mighty flap of her wings and pulled herself higher into the air calling an attack as she ascended.

"Phoenix Rising!"

At the sound of her words a thick, black smoke enveloped the rampaging saurian. Allomon's vision went black as the ashes stung his eyes and tore at his throat which ground his attack to a halt.

"GRAAH!" cried Allomon as he clawed at his burning face.

"And that's not all!" said Birdramon as she circled back and swooped down on Allomon. She readied her huge talons, clamped down on the dinosaur's back and flapped her wings furiously until both of them were airborne.

To say Allomon was confused was an understatement. "What are you doing?"

"Fighting me is one thing but to go after my partner is another! I'll make sure you never get a chance to threaten her or anyone else ever again!" she responded as she let out a mighty screech and flapped her wings angrily. Amazing as it was, they gained more and more altitude and suddenly the ground seemed so far away. Once he realized what his adversary was planning to do his courage abandoned him.

"Wait! Don't do it! Put me down! PUT ME DOWN!" he pleaded.

So Birdramon did just that. She opened her talons and felt the weight of her scaly cargo leave her. Allomon roared in fear as he plummeted like a rock toward the ground and impacted the ground with a loud thud throwing up cloud of sand.

"And for the finish, Meteor Wing!"

A hail of fire balls leapt from her wings and fell like falling stars toward the spot their target landed. A fiery explosion erupted from the crater leaving nothing left of the Dinosaur digimon but his fading cries of agony as his data destabilized and his body broke apart.

* * *

"Wow," whispered Claire as she watched the battle come to close. "I had no idea Biyomon could be so fierce!

"This is insane!" said Joshua. "I know Labramon got stronger the first time he digivolved but to think these creatures could become this powerful". He rubbed the spot on his leg where Labramon had bitten him gently. If anything it should serve as a reminder of what he had gotten himself into. " Birdramon must be stronger than all our digimon combined! No wonder Pipismon wanted us so badly!"

Tyler's eyes were wide in excitement. He had just witnessed possibly the coolest thing he'd ever seen in his life. If Claire could do that to Biyomon just think of what he could turn Dracomon into! "Dracomon, no doubt about it, we're definitely getting you to digivolve next!"

"Sire…," began Dracomon. "I want to digivolve. I want to fight!"

"Damn right you do!"

The teenagers watched as the mighty fire bird landed in front of them. Now that they had a chance to see her clearly they realized just how big the plucky bird had gotten but another surprise hit the group as Birdramon's body again glowed and shrunk. When the light dissipated the familiar pink-feathered form of Biyomon lay exhausted in the sand.

Claire was instantly concerned. "Biyomon? Why…" was all she could get out before she felt the hard, cold metal of Pipismon's sickle against her throat.

"Claire!" cried the group as they realized that one of their own had been taken hostage.

"No one move! This one's coming with me!" demanded the bat digimon. "If you want her in one piece you'll stay back while my subordinate finishes the bird off!"

"Please, Pipismon you must realize the error in your judgement. These humans must choose their guardians freely. What you're doing not only endangers us but the hope of the new Digital World!" Lunamon explained trying to calm the enemy with reason.

"So if she wants to live she'll choose me! Whether it's to save this world or not matters little!" he shot back.

Labramon growled angrily and bared his teeth at the flying menace. "Why are you doing this? Why are you always trying to hurt us? Why can't you be our friend instead?"

Pipismon scoffed. "You must be an idiot if you think I can take you seriously. Friends? The only reason I'd side with anyone is if they can make me stronger like this human here. We digimon get stronger the more we fight and eventually we accumulate enough data to digivolve to stronger forms, but in a matter of hours this human was able to grant her digimon a form that should've taken years to attain! She's invaluable which is more than I can say for your human you filthy mutt!"

Ideas raced in Joshua's mind and he rejected them one after the other as he tried to find a way out of this situation. Pipismon was too close to try to attack. Anything they tried would be far too slow to catch him before he cut Claire's throat. Needing information he reached for his headpiece and tried to reactivate the HUD.

"I don't think so human!" yelled Pipismon as he flashed his sickle. "If you try to activate that device your comrade is finished! And tell your pet to heel! I don't want him trying anything!"

"Labramon…" Joshua started.

"But he's got Claire and…"

"I know! But there's nothing we can do know about it now,"

Dejected Labramon reluctantly returned to his partner side.

"Good. Now human listen closely, I want you to walk toward your partner slowly. If you try to escape or fight me off its over do you understand?"

Afraid of nodding her head Claire responded vocally. "Yes"

"Good. Now walk!"

Obediently, the terrified girl walked slowly toward where Biyomon lay in the sand hoping beyond hope she could save her from these disgusting bats!

"You all should have taken my offer earlier but it was nice seeing your powers on display before…I…c-could…s-s-see…what?...I…"

Pipismon's body went rigid as a mysterious high-pitched scratching noise invaded his ears. He tried to fight it but the paralysis quickly rendered his body immobile and he flopped helplessly on the ground. Claire stared at him wondering if this was really happening before a mixture of fear and anger welled up within her and she violently kicked her former hostage taker.

"Get away from me you damn monster!" she screamed as she ran toward Biyomon.

"Hey boss, what's going on?" asked the lesser Pipismon.

"Guard is down! Baby Breath!" said Dracomon as a fireball rocketed toward his target. Said target was so distracted by his leader's sudden immobility that he didn't notice the attack until the searing hot flames knocked him to the ground.

"Way to go Dracomon!" cheered Tyler. He knelt down beside his partner and gave him a pat on the back on the head. "You finally got him!" If he had been more observant he would've noticed that Dracomon's eyes were now glowing a furious crimson.

"Hey guys!" yelled a voice from the distance. Coming from over a sand dune Tony and Selena ran toward them with a strange furry creature with a metal helmet on its head following them.

"Tony! Selena! You're alright!" cried Claire as she picked her partner off the ground and ran toward the group.

"W-wait! N-no! D-D-Digivolve! Make me Digivolve!" The leader of the Pipismon gang croaked out as he tried and failed to pull himself up from the ground.

"G Shurunen!" roared Dracomon as he fired a beam of heat from his mouth. Everyone gave a yelp of surprise as the attack tore through the air and annihilated both Pipismon leaving nothing but data particles in its wake.

For once Tyler was left speechless and by the looks of everyone staring at him in surprise he wasn't alone. Drained, Dracomon slumped in his arms and promptly fell asleep. In that moment the only thing that could be heard were the sounds of the waves lapping on the shore as the five newcomers to the Digital World tried to process what happened.

"So…" said Selena trying to break the heavy atmosphere that had settled over the beach. "What'd we miss?"

* * *

**Well this one wins the award for the longest chapter. Seriously, I hadn't planned on this one being so long but the story just kind of demanded it. At least it gave me a chance to break out the fire metaphors.**

**To all those wondering, yes I will be giving these digivices a name. Tradition is pretty important to the series.**

**I have to say that by writing this I've gained a new appreciation for the writers of shows like this or even just writers in general. Sure they have budgets and a team of (hopefully) talented writers at the helm but writing an engaging story isn't an easy thing to do which I think most of you can attest to. So if you guys want to make any suggestions or bring up ideas for my story feel free to tell me.**

**Until next time. Thanks again for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10: Doubt

Chapter 10: Doubt

"Tell me!"

"No"

"Tell me!"

"No!"

"C'mon Claire tell me how you did it!"

"Tyler I already told you! I don't know how I did it! Quit asking me!" a very annoyed Clair yelled.

"But I just gotta know how to make Dracomon digivolve! Please!"

Claire released an exasperated sigh as she tried to think of a way to make their self-proclaimed leader shut up. "Tyler, try thinking really intense thoughts and when you start glowing that's when you know you're doing it right,"

"No foolin'?" he said as he ran her suggestion through his mind.

"Yeah, really,"

The dragon digimon sitting next to his partner wasn't fooled as easily. "Sire, she is trying to get rid of us," accused Dracomon.

"Alright fine! Tyler I don't know how I made Biyomon digivolve but right now me and her both are tired and just want some time to ourselves OK?"

Tyler crossed his arms in disappointment. "Fine but when you're done you promise to show me?"

"I promise" she answered. With Tyler satisfied she stroked Biyomon's feathers as she rested in her lap. The fight with Allomon had taken a lot out of her and everyone else. Most of them still couldn't believe they were still alive let alone resting peacefully in the shrine. Miraculously it had survived the attack unscathed and had become their default meeting place. Tony and Kapurimon were sitting in the seat on the other side of the cabin talking to each other and fiddling with his new digivice. She had to remember to congratulate him.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Selena and Labramon making their way toward her. "Hey Claire, are you feeling alright?" the girl asked.

"I'm fine really, Allomon didn't even touch me thanks to Biyomon here," she responded.

Biyomon squirmed in her arms. "That's right! A guardian digimon always protects her human no matter what!"

Labramon stared at the proud guardian and smiled. "That was some fight. Didn't it hurt when Allomon bit you?"

Biyomon flexed her wings and sighed. "Well maybe they do hurt a little,"

"Then I'll help," declared the dog digimon as he opened his mouth.

"**Cure Liquor!" **He cried as he licked Biyomon with his long, wet, tongue. Claire and Biyomon both let out an astonished screech while Tyler burst into laughter.

"Eww! Josh, come and get your dog away from Biyomon!" screamed Claire as she pulled her partner away from Labramon.

Labramon's look of confusion did nothing to assuage her disgust. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" repeated Biyomon as she frantically shook her feathers. "You slobbered all over me!"

"She's right Labramon that wasn't nice. Here Biyomon, I'll get something to dry you off. Are there any blankets or towels around?"

"You seriously think we're gonna find that stuff out here?" asked Tyler.

"If they can make all this…" she paused and swept her arm around the plane's cabin for emphasis. "They should have something as simple as a rag so we can clean Biyomon off,"

"I can find something like that," offered Labramon.

"No offense Labramon but I think it'd be better if me or Selena does it. You should go be with your partner. Speaking of which where is he?" asked Claire.

"He's still in first class just kind of staring off into space. I swear he's just in his own little world when he does that," answered Selena.

"Josh says that when he does that it means he's thinking about something," stated Labramon as he remembered a similar tendency back in the forest.

"Then go and keep him company while I clean the drool out of my feathers," Biyomon suggested flippantly as she ran her beak through her plumage.

"And while you're doing that me and Dracomon will be outside trying out that human candle trick you pulled back on the beach," stated Tyler.

"I apologize for interrupting but might I suggest that everyone stay in the shrine for the time being?" asked a voice that came from none other than Lunamon as she entered the cabin.

The eager boy looked at her in confusion "Why?"

"Because our actions during the battle with Allomon have drawn quite a following and I doubt your popularity would be conducive to your training".

Tyler turned his head. "What's "conducive" mean?"

"She means you won't get anything done because there's too many digimon outside waiting for us," answered Tony as he finished polishing Kapurimon's helmet.

"Wow she's right! Look out the window!" said Claire.

Everyone moved to the right side of the plane and looked out toward the beach. Outside huge crowds of digimon were waiting patiently each with some variation of excitement plastered on their faces.

Tyler's eyes widened. "Dude, it's like we're a rock band or something!"

"I've never seen so many of the village digimon in one place before. We must be more popular than ever!" said Biyomon happily.

"This is true which is why I suggest we remain here until we can formulate a plan for our journey. Has anyone seen Lord Joshua?" asked Lunamon.

"He's in the first-class cabin by himself doing who knows what," answered Selena. Just then Joshua walked into coach with an intense expression on his face. The atmosphere of the plane became heavy as everyone took in the angry expression on the normally reserved boy. Worried Labramon ambled up to his partner.

"What's wrong?" He asked obviously concerned.

Joshua's apparent anger evaporated at the sound of his partner's voice. "Nothing, I'm just thinking that's all,"

Labramon still did not look relieved. "You looked like you were angry at someone. Was it because of what I did?"

"I told you before that I'm fine. That bite you gave me saved my life I'm glad you did it," Joshua reassured him.

"Not that! He means he's sorry for licking Biyomon and covering her with spit!" said a clearly annoyed Claire who was still helping her digimon clean her feathers.

"You did what now?" asked Joshua confused.

Labramon turned his head away from him. "She said that she was still hurt and it seemed like a good idea at the time,"

"Yeah, well the next time you have another one of your bright ideas please leave me and my clean, unslobbered-on feathers out of it!" yelled Biyomon.

Clearing her throat, Lunamon refocused everyone's attention on her once more. "Forgive me for intruding upon on the conversation but recent events warrant our prompt action. We have a decision to make concerning our future plans,"

"Ugh, Lunamon do you have to be so formal all the time? It's us! You don't need to act like Ms. SAT vocabulary all the time!" Tyler complained. "I mean just take Dracomon here, he only says exactly what he needs to say and we all think he's the greatest!"

"Speak for yourself dragon boy! Some of us appreciate a little decorum once in a while or did you forget she's the priestess for the entire village!" Selena shot back.

"I appreciate your kind words Lady Selena but above all else we must remain focused. We have yet to decide on the proper course of action we should take concerning our journey across the islands,"

"You mean we still have to find the older priestess right? The one you said used to protect all the islands?" asked Anthony.

"Well we obviously can't leave. The village is still a wreck and if any more of those bad digimon come here without us to protect it the villagers could get hurt again!" she pointed out of the plane's window to the mob of digimon still waiting on their return.

Joshua turned to Selena. "No, that's exactly why we should we leave! The sooner we find this priestess and find our way home the better!"

Tyler sat up in his chair. "Dude, I know you don't really like this place but we can't just leave! We gotta job to do!"

Selena walked up to Joshua. "Don't you care about any of the digimon here? How can we just go home with everything that's happened? Some of them were even deleted Josh!" She tried to convey here feelings as best she could. She knew their most recent addition to their team wasn't the most sociable but now he was acting downright cold-hearted.

Joshua looked straight at her. "That's just it. We shouldn't care about the village or the islands or this world. None of this should matter to us at all!"

The whole cabin went silent as the boy's words hung in the air. Even Labramon hung his head and backed away from his partner.

"I can't believe you!" shouted Claire as she jumped from her seat and stomped toward him. Biyomon, still resting in her arms, was in full and mirrored her partner's look of shock and anger. "Did you forget that Biyomon almost got killed? Hell, we all almost died but our diigmon risked their lives anyway!

"Yeah and the village digimon saved me and Selena from those bat digimon. Everyone helped out even Kapurimon did back when he just Metalkoromon," said Tony as his found his voice.

"Face it man, you're the only one here who wants to leave and after this maybe you should!" Tyler joined in on the rant. "Dracomon and I are more the willing to pick up the slack,"

Selena shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest to express her disappointment. "Lunamon tried to defend you. She said you just needed time to adjust and if you work with us maybe we can help you but you have to trust us and them," she swept her arm across the plane to indicate the digimon. "But not if you're just going to throw everyone's sacrifices away,"

Joshua let out a sigh of annoyance and massaged his temples with his right hand. "You all honestly don't see what's happening here? None of you has even the slightest idea?"

"Then please, tell us Sherlock!" challenged Tyler. "What do you know that we don't?"

Joshua shook his head. "Not here," He looked past Selena's shoulder toward where Lunamon had been sitting in silence. He figured she had learned to stay out of the conversations they were having, whether out of politeness or because she just wanted to listen in.

"How about everyone from Earth go into the first-class cabin while the digimon go outside?" He suggested. He kept his eyes trained on Lunamon's face watching for any kind of reaction. The priestess failed to meet his gaze but she seemed unusually calm about his announcement especially since he was effectively kicking her out of her own shrine. After a few moments Selena noticed that his eyes weren't on her.

"Is this about Lunamon? What do you have against her?"

"Look, if you all really want to know what I think then meet me behind the curtain but tell your digimon to go outside. This is important!" he waited for everyone's response trying to keep his nerves under control. "After that you can do whatever you want,"

Both humans and digimon alike looked at each other as if trying to communicate their thoughts without speaking. Tyler broke the silence first.

"Alright, let's see what he has to say that's so important,"

Lunamon looked at the group with increasing worry. "Please Lord Joshua if you have some disagreement with me I would be more than willing to talk with you but I feel separating us like this would solve nothing,"

Joshua ignored her and instead focused on the mixture of emotions displayed on her face. Even though she wasn't human he could still clearly make out her feelings. She was trying to endear herself to him in her usual manner but he noticed a small crack in her composure. Obviously she hadn't planned on him figuring out so much so soon. He then turned away from the priestess and looked down at his partner still sitting at his side. "Labramon would you take the other digimon off the plane for a while," he said.

It was obvious from the dog digimon's face that he didn't want to be separated, especially now since he had gained the nagging feeling that his partner had lost some trust in him during the fight with Allomon ,but the stern face Josh was giving him told him that whatever he was doing he wanted to do it his way. Labramon rose from his place and walked toward the side exit without saying a word to his partner or the other digimon. It was obvious that they had heard Joshua's request so there was no need to say it again.

"You're just walking out?" asked Biyomon indignantly. She stared at her fellow guardian digimon hoping for some kind of response. Labramon looked back at her and inclined his head toward the door expecting her to follow. Biyomon scoffed at him and turned toward Claire.

"Don't worry about us Biyomon," she reassured the bird digimon. "I bet this is all just a misunderstanding,"

"Yeah, we'll straighten out Mr. Paranoia over here in no time. You guys just go have fun for a while," added Selena as she and the others began to enter the first-class cabin. Joshua, being the one to call the "meeting" in the first place, entered first and stood right in front of where the cockpit would be in a normal plane. The others filed in and took a seat roughly where they were the first time he had seen them, when he and Labramon had first stumbled upon the village.

The last of Tyler's patience evaporated as soon as everyone was accounted for. "Ok, you got what you wanted now talk! What's this about?" he crossed his arms and stared directly at him waiting for an answer.

"I'll tell what this is about!" Selena answered angrily. "This is about whatever he has against Lunamon! Ever since he came here he's done nothing but ignore or disrespect her!" she turned toward Josh without missing a beat. "She's been nothing kind to all of us, she even fought with us against Allomon and those other bat things but you for whatever reason have a problem with her!"

"No to mention that whole "we shouldn't care about anything here crap you said earlier," Claire added. "For Christ's sake you said that in front of Labramon! Did you see the way he looked at you when you basically said you didn't care about him? I thought the poor thing would be heartbroken!"

"And the other digimon here have been so nice to us," said Tony. "How come you don't like them?"

Joshua looked around the room as he absorbed the comments and questions. Admittedly he did feel slightly guilty for his perceived coldness toward Labramon but his feelimgs would have to wait. This was far too important.

"Look I know I'm not the most likeable person her so I'll make this quick. I don't trust Lunamon, at all!" he crossed his arms and leaned against the sides of the cabin waiting for a response.

"We've kind of knew that already," said Selena. "The question is why,"

Josh took a deep breath to calm his nerves before speaking again. "Because nothing she's said to us since I came here has made any sense!"

Everyone in the rom looked at him strangely. "Like what?" asked Selena.

Joshua counted of a finger on his right hand. "For one, she lied about us being brought here by her gods or whatever for some great purpose. I didn't come to this world because some deity asked me nicely, some…thing trapped me in a train car and told me that if I didn't cooperate it would kill everyone else on the train including my little sister!"

"You have a sister?" asked Tyler. "That's a surprise,"

Joshua looked up at him. "Why's that?"

"You don't act like it," Claire clarified. "Honestly, before you told me I thought you were an only child,"

"She's my half-sister," he explained. "But that's not important right now. What is important is that I think whoever brought us here isn't exactly a saint let alone some benevolent god,"

"He does have a point," Claire admitted. "I came here because some demon-possessed toy tried to take my little brother away and I told it to take me instead. You know come to think of it you never did tell me why you thought the toy wanted me instead of him,"

Joshua swept his hand across the cabin. "Well just look at us. Don't you think it's a bit convenient that the gods just happened to choose the five of us?

"Lunamon said we were special," Selena challenged. "I think we have proof of that after Claire lit up like a Christmas tree,"

"Yeah, whenever she gets around to telling us how she did it we'll all be glowing like that too," said Tyler leaning unmistakably toward Claire. "I mean if we could do that why wouldn't they call on us to help?"

"I mean…" began Joshua. "Ok, how about this. How many of you could shine like that back home? "He asked. As expected everyone shook their heads. "And how many people do you know can shine the way Claire did?"

Tyler scratched his chin. "I think I saw some hippie's on TV read people's auras and stuff. Maybe they're on to something,"

"Yeah, this one time I met The Great Soondi and he said everyone's got cosmic energy in them and if you work real hard you can do stuff with it!" Tony added.

Claire raised an eyebrow at the boy. "You should probably mind who you listen to hun but in this case I might have to agree with him. Just a little bit,"

"So maybe the gods chose us because we have stronger auras then other people," Selena guessed. "Maybe the five of us have the strongest auras in the world and that's why the gods chose us,"

Despite his skepticism Joshua considered it. "And let's say you're right. Auras or cosmic energy or chakras or whatever you want to call it exist and they can be measured in people. What are the chances that the five most powerful "auras" in the world all belong to Americans and all of whom are roughly around the same age?"

Joshua's question hung heavily over everyone in the shrine. They had to admit it was a strange coincidence.

As usual Tyler was the one to break the silence. "How do you know I'm American? I could be Canadian for all you know!"

"Are you Canadian?" Joshua asked.

"No. I'm from Denver but still!"

"I'm from Brooklyn," said Claire. "Moved to Atlanta about five years ago,"

"You too?" asked Selelna in surprise. "My family and I moved there from Vegas a while ago,"

Tony raised his hand frantically. "Ooh, I'm from California! Then my mom made us move to Atlanta when I was eight,"

"And I'm originally from Chicago. Another amazing coincidence that we all just happened to move to Atlanta isn't it?" By now Joshua was certain the others would see reason after this.

"But what does any of that mean? Have the gods been watching us the whole time? Is there something in Atlanta that's so special?" Selena voiced the questions the entire group had been pondering since the reveal of their respective hometowns.

Joshua shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know but if anything it means we can't trust these "gods" at all which in our case means Lunamon,"

Claire frowned at him. "OK, hold up. You've had a problem with her ever since you came here. I get that all this is Digital World stuff is strange as hell and we should watch our backs but Lunamon has always been our best friend ever since we came here and really I don't even think she _could_ hurt us even if she wanted to,"

"Yeah, see that's why I don't trust her. She's supposed to be a representative of the ones who brought us here but why do these gods need her to talk to us in the first place? Why don't they just come down here and talk to us directly! Why haven't they said a single word to us except through Lunamon!" Joshua's voice grew in volume as his questions marched forth. He usually liked to keep his thoughts to himself and if he had to explain them he had always imagined himself as calm and patient but he couldn't deny how good it felt to finally get these nagging thoughts of his chest.

Tyler shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe they've got better things to do?"

"What could be more important than contacting the people you brought to destroy your own world?" asked Joshua as he stared directly at Tyler. Once again the boy in the goggles shrugged his shoulders and turned toward the rest of the group in the hope that someone else had an answer.

"And that's another thing," Joshua continued. "Lunamon said we were brought here to "destroy the world" to keep it from getting worse. Why?"

"Because if you don't it'll get worse," answered Claire. "It's like when a really old car breaks down completely and it's cheaper to get a new one instead paying for the repairs,"

"Then why not fix it sooner and avoid having it break down at all? What sense does it make for the gods to wait until now to call us when their world is so far gone that the only option left is to destroy it?" he rebutted. "And why call us at all? I know we all saw what you did back there during the fight but we're only human. If digimon like Allomon exist why would they take the risk of bringing aliens with no connection to this world over their own kind? For all they knew we could've been card carrying members of the Kill all Digimon League and where would they've been then?"

"You been thinking a lot about this," Selena commented.

"Well someone had to!" he exclaimed. "Ever since I met all of you you've all taken Lunamon and the other digimon's stories at face value! What the hell do we know about this place other than what they've told us? That's why I think we need to get out of here ASAP before Lunamon takes us wherever she has planned,"

"Why are you always so damned cynical?" she shouted back angrily. "You don't know Lunamon!"

"Neither do you!" he shot back. "You've known her for how long? A few days? Is that all it takes for someone to convince you to trust them? Or is it because she's cute and you want her to be your partner?"

Selena stomped toward him. "You-"

"Alright that's enough!" Tyler shouted. "We're supposed to be a team! And we can't do that if we're fighting each other,"

Joshua glared at their supposed "leader" and shouted back at him. "What team!" You mean us? Now we're making a team because Lunamon told you to? Have you forgotten that we might **never** get back home again? Are you really that gullible or just stupid?"

Tyler shoved the shorter boy in anger. Joshua stumbled backward struggling to regain his footing before finally stopping himself before he fell on his back.

"Hey Ty, we don't have to fight. Can't we just go back outside with the digimon?" Tony pleaded to the older boy.

"What the hell's your problem dude!" Tyler yelled.

"My problem is that you all don't have a problem!" he accused. He picked himself up then walked past both teenagers without even looking at them and headed toward the curtains.

"Where're you going?" asked Claire.

"Out," he answered tersely. "I'm going to find a way back home. You can all go follow Lunamon if you want. I don't care," The curtains quickly parted as the boy stormed out of the shrine.

"Well good riddance!" Selena shouted after him. "Paranoid weirdo!"

"Is he though?" Claire questioned. "He did bring up some good points,"

"That's no reason to be a jerk!"

"I know but he was right about one thing, we do have to leave the village," Claire adimitted.

Selena looked at the other girl in surprise. "What! You don't actually believe what he said about Lunamon do you?"

"No but I was thinking about what would happen if more digimon like Allomon come around. The only reason they came here in the first place was because they thought we could make them digivolve,"

Tyler nodded in understanding. "So the longer we stay here the more likely the village will get attacked again,"

"And just like that we've got something else to worry about," Selena sat down in the seat next to Tony and massaged her head with her fingers. "Great. Now I have a headache too,"

**Man, that took a lot longer to write than I anticipated. I've been doing research lately about future arcs and frankly I can understand why shows like Digimon have multiple writers. They say that when a writer creates a character he puts a piece of himself into that character. I think that's true but when you're a single person writing an ensemble piece you have to constantly keep your characters sounding natural without them becoming cardboard cut-outs. With more writers they can focus on one or two characters at a time and then have them play off each other in a much more realistic way.**


	11. Chapter 12

Chapter 11:

Labramon rested underneath the shade of the shrine as he waited for his partner. He still wished that he was there with him but Josh had said that only the humans should be there and he knew he was serious. He respected his wishes of course but lately he'd felt that his partner had been keeping him from getting close. Lunamon had said that they were supposed to be friends so why was Josh having such a hard time making friends with everyone?

Labramon turned the problems in his head around like a puzzle. As he did so he noticed Lunamon, Biyomon and Kapurimon approach him.

"Hey Labramon, what'cha doing?" asked Biyomon.

The dog digimon rolled onto his side and sighed. "I'm just thinking,"

"I see that you have begun emulating your human partner by adopting his habits," said Kapurimon. "Such behavior is beneficial in understanding another's motives,"

Labramon rolled back on his stomach and looked at Kapurimon. "You think if I start acting like Josh I could figure why he acts like we aren't friends?"

Biyomon crossed her feathery arms and scoffed. "Why would you want to act like him anyway? I know I don't know much about humans but the others are having a hard time trying to understand him. Honestly, I think there's some bad code in him or something,"

"His hesitancy to place his trust in others is somewhat understandable," admitted Lunamon. "I imagine that if we were suddenly thrust into the human's world we would find ourselves unwilling to trust strangers,"

"But they're all humans! Why wouldn't they trust each other?" asked Biyomon.

"And we are all digimon," said Lunamon. "But as today's events have proven we are far from peaceful,"

"Why's that Lunamon?" asked Labramon. "How come Allomon and those Pipismon attacked us?"

Lunamon sighed and crossed her arms. "Our human guests have the ability to induce digivolution in their chosen digimon. Digivolution beyond the rookie level is a difficult process and even more so for higher level digimon. Normally it would take years of absorbing the data of other digimon in order to reach the champion level,"

"So then when I digivolved it was because of Claire's power?" Biyomon asked.

Lunamon nodded. "The power your partner exhibited on the beach allowed you to temporarily assume your champion form. All of the humans have this ability which means that we'll likely be attacked on our journey,"

"And that means they'll need our protection!" declared Biyomon proudly. The bird digimon's happy exclamation was interrupted by the sound of the plane shrine's door opening and the agitated form of Joshua Lawson walked out. Concerned, Labramon quickly ambled up to his side without a word to his fellow Digimon. Joshua spared a glance toward his partner then turned toward the beach.

"Where are we going?" asked the dog digimon. "And why do you look so mad?"

"I need to be alone for a while," Joshua answered. "I need some time think".

"But you're always thinking! Don't you want to stay with our friends?"

Joshua clenched his fists in frustration. "I already tried talking to them but they didn't want to listen to reason! They're still so gung-ho about this "divine mission" we're supposed to be on without giving anything the least bit of thought! This isn't even our world and yet they act like we have some obligation to it,"

"But don't we? All the digimon in the village are depending on us and there are more digimon around that might need our help. That's why we're here,"

"You've been talking to Lunamon," Joshua accused. "I told you how I feel about her,"

"But you never give her a chance! She could be your friend if you let her and so can everyone else! Wouldn't you be happier if you let them get close to you?"

Joshua stopped in his tracks and looked down at his partner. He was speechless. If the dog digimon's words didn't convince him his eyes full of hope and earnestness did. He couldn't believe a creature so radically different than anything on Earth could stir such emotion in him. He didn't want to admit it but Labramon was quickly becoming the best friend he'd ever had and it scared him how fast it had happened. If he had to be honest with himself he would've loved to be able to trust and befriend everyone he met. If everyone was like Labramon he'd be more than happy to make more friends but experience had taught him that just because someone calls you their friend now doesn't mean they'll be your friend later.

"You're so naïve it's unreal," he let his words hang in the air as he and Labramon walked further along the beach. He hadn't noticed it until now but they were both now quite a distance away from the village. The grey stones were replacing the smooth, white sand and the land began to slowly incline toward a small cliff just a hundred yards away.

"Josh, where are we going?" asked Labramon as he joined his partner in his confusion.

"I don't know but we probably just wandered off a little too far from the village. You should go back with the others,"

"But then you'd be out here by yourself,"

"I know, but we just traveled in a straight line along the beach so if I need to come back to the village I can do so pretty easily," he could tell Labramon didn't like the idea and he couldn't blame him. The edge of the island looked so peaceful with no sound but the rush of wind and the crashing of the waves on the beach but he knew all that could change in an instant. Back home being out in the wilderness by yourself was usually a bad idea but here in the digital world where intelligent and powerful creatures lived in the woods instead of bears or wolves it was worse than bad, it was suicidal.

"You're right. A little alone time probably isn't worth getting attacked," he admitted. "Let's go back".

Labramon's face brightened as his partner's words meant they'd be heading back to the village.

"But before we go can I ask you a question?" asked Josh.

Labramon nodded. "What is it?"

"Well, you saw how Biyomon changed when she digivolved to Birdramon right?"

"Yeah, she was huge and on fire!"

"No not that. I mean you saw how her personality changed. She was so much more aggressive and unforgiving as Birdramon. She acted more like a…monster. Not to say that wasn't a good thing during the fight but do you think all digimon change like that when they digivolve?"

Labramon turned the question over in his head for a few moments. "Well I know I was different back when I was Xiaomon. So I guess I would change but no matter how strong I get I'm still me".

Joshua thought back to when he first met Labramon as Xiaomon. Back then the dog digimon was more simple and child-like. When he digivolved his personality had matured a bit but he was still the naïve, friendly creature he'd met back in that cave. Then again Biyomon had been also been pretty friendly if a bit arrogant but all that seemed to just disappear when she digivolved. She became a flaming, angry hell bird bent on tearing Allomon apart. Did that mean that their digimon would become more feral as they got stronger? What would happen if they changed so much that they decided they didn't need human partners anymore?

"Hey Josh! You hear that?" asked Labramon as he whipped his head about.

Josh was separated from his questioning thoughts. "Hear what?"

"That voice!" Labramon's head stopped swiveling and pointed in the direction of the forest. "They're calling for help!"

"Where?" Joshua strained his ears listening for the voice his partner had pointed out.

"Over there!" yelled the dog digimon as he ran full speed toward the thick foliage of the forest's edge.

Joshua struggled to keep up. "Wait Labramon! You don't know what's out there!" He wanted to keep Labramon in his sights but it was quickly becoming obvious how unfit he was for running on a sandy beach. It didn't take long before the overzealous digimon vanished into the leaves and left Joshua far behind.

"Dammit! What happened to going back to the village?" Suddenly a nice, relaxing walk back to the only semblance of civilization he had encountered in this world sounded like a good idea. When he finally reached the end of the beach he rested against a nearby tree to catch his breath and allowed his body to slide down the trunk in exhaustion. It hadn't occurred to him until now but he'd been running nearly everywhere and it was clear his body just wasn't up to the task, he had never considered himself the athletic type but to think he'd be out of breath after a relatively short run did not bode well.

Deciding to make the most out this small break, Josh slipped off his right shoe and dumped the sand out.

"I'm probably going to have to get used to this," he said to himself as his mind did its familiar wandering.

"Josh! Josh you have to see this!" Joshua's ears perked up at the sound of his name. All of a sudden Labramon leapt out of the foliage and landed at his feet with a look of concern on his face.

"Josh come quick someone's…" Labramon's voice trailed off as he noticed his partner's feet and yelped.

"You're foot came off!"

"Came off?" repeated Joshua in confusion. "No, that's just my shoe,"

The poor dog digimon stared at him then back at his shoe in confusion. "Why do you cover your feet with those things?"

"So we can walk around without hurting them," he answered. "The same goes for my pants and my shirt. If we don't our whole bodies are exposed to the elements."

"What's an elements?"

"I mean weather".

"What's weather?"

This time it was Joshua's turn to look surprised. "You know, like rain and snow,"

"I don't think I've ever seen those things before,"

"It never rains here?

"I don't think so,"

"How weird," the bewildered human boy replied. "You've never seen rain before but with a forest this lush you'd think it'd rain all the time. I wonder how the plants are getting any water or even if the plants need water here,"

Suddenly Labramon's eyes widened as he remembered why he wanted to find his partner in the first place.

"I just remembered! There's this little digimon that needs our help!"

"Is that why you ran off?"

"Yeah! He's hurt really bad, come quick!" and with that he rushed off back into the forest.

"Hey wait! Don't leave me behind again!" Joshua sat up, put his shoe back on, and took off after Labramon. Luckily he didn't have to run far to find his partner sitting next to a tree. As he came closer he noticed a small, furry creature nestled underneath the shade of a stout tree. At first glance it looked like a hamster that had grown to the size of a housecat.

"It's okay we're both here now," Labramon said to the little creature.

Slowly it turned toward the two and revealed a pair of extremely large blue eyes.

"You came back," it said weakly. Its voice was small and high-pitched and yet strained as if just the simple act of talking caused it pain.

"mmhmm, and I brought Josh back too," Labramon turned his head toward his human partner. When the little digimon laid its eyes on Joshua its already bright eyes seemed to gleam with amazement.

"Are you a…human?" it asked.

Joshua nodded. "Right, my name's Joshua and I you've already met Labramon here. Who are you?"

"I'm…OW!" The furry hamster-like digimon cried as it flinched in pain.

"What's wrong?" asked in Labramon in concern.

"My…back. It hurts!" It rolled on its side and closed its eyes tight as it tried to shut out the pain.

Curious Joshua walked up to it and activated his digivice. In an instant the HUD appeared in front of his eyes and scanned the hurting digimon in front of him.

**Name: Patamon**

**Level: Rookie**

**Type: Data**

"Patamon right?" He bent down and took a closer look at the digimon's body. On its back was a large black spot that looked as if it was once fur that had been burned off.

"You're back is burned," he stated. "How'd that happen?"

"I was attacked," said Patamon. "When I heard that humans were here I wanted to go the village to meet you but then these digimon ambushed me and said that if I didn't lead them there they'd kill me!"

Both Joshua and Labramon frowned. News of their arrival had obviously spread like wildfire and more digimon were coming out of the woodwork to meet them. If Patamon was any indication, not all them were very friendly either.

"These digimon that attacked you, what'd they look like?" asked Joshua.

Patamon seemed uneasy for a moment though it was hard to tell due to the pain from his injuries whether he was just trying to keep himself composed.

"I don't know. I just tried to fly away as fast as I could and one of them attacked me from behind. I was able to lose them but I know they'll head toward the village soon,"

"Then we need to go back and warn everyone!" yelled Labramon.

"Right. Patamon can you move at all?"

The little digimon wobbled on its tiny legs trying to steady itself before flopping back on the ground in a heap.

"I can't. It hurts too much to move!"

"Then I can carry you back," Joshua knelt down at Patamon's side. "That is if you're fine with being moved".

A tired smile appeared on the injured digimon's face. "It's okay. I've always heard that humans were supposed to be really nice. I'm glad it's true,"

Joshua couldn't help but to feel embarrassed by the small creature's compliment. He had to keep reminding himself that to them humans must seem like mythical saviors. Even if he thought the whole idea was ridiculous, he found himself wanting to live up to Patamon's expectations.

"Alright, just hold still," he told Patamon as he began lifting him off the ground. "Don't move too much all right. Just try to stay as still possible until we can get someone to look at you".

"Wait! I know what we can do!" Labramon offered as he rose up on his hind legs and stuck out his tongue to the surprise of both his partner and newest friend.

"Cure Liquor!" he cried as he ran his wet tongue over the burnt area on Patamon's back.

Patamon's body shook with surprise as the sensation ran over his tiny body. "Aghhh! Wet!"

"Labramon! What are you doing?" Joshua asked.

"Helping!" he answered as he prepared another lick for the now very frazzled Patamon.

Joshua jerked his arms away from the overzealous dog digimon. "Stop that! You don't even know if it'll work! Now look at what you did! He's all wet withdog slobber, we're supposed to be helping him and you're licking him like a tootsie roll".

"What's a toosy roll?" Joshua and Patamon asked in unison.

Joshua let out a sigh of exasperation. "I'll tell you later. Let's just go. If we leave now we can probably make it back before nightfall, whenever that is,"

"Okay and I promise I won't lick anyone anymore," Joshua could hear the slight disappointment in his partner's voice as he said that. He briefly wondered why licking things were so important to him.

"_Must be a digimon thing_," he thought to himself.

Eventually the trio finally began making their way back to the village. Despite the possibility of danger they decided to walk back through the forest due to Patamon complaining about the sun hurting his back. He knew that it was probably safer traveling back over the beach but it wasn't like they were too far away from it and he did enjoy being in the shade of the multitude of trees. The calm feeling he was getting from the walk was perturbed somewhat from the increasing shaking in his arms. He looked down to see a jittery Patamon sweeping his large, fearful eyes back and forth across the forest floor.

"What's wrong Patamon? I'm not hurting you am I?" Joshua asked in concern.

"Patamon looked up at him with surprise before quickly shifting back into an uneasy smile. "Oh no, I'm fine, don't mind me I'm just a little…in awe of you two,"

That statement stopped both Joshua and Labramon in their tracks. "You're…in awe of us?"

Patamon nodded. "I've never met a real human before. Where I come from humans are supposed to be really strong and terrifying creatures that are supposed to kill off all the unworthy digimon and make a new world for the strong ones,"

Joshua tried hard to hide the annoyance in his face from listening to Patamon. Lunamon's story about the destined humans meant to destroy the world was bad enough but this was even worse. Where could they have gotten such weird ideas about humans?

"Patamon, neither I nor Labramon are going to hurt you so get that idea out of your mind. I don't care what some stupid prophecy says about humans. I just want to go home," he said as clearly and authoritatively as he could.

"But destroying the world is the reason you're here right? You humans and your digimon have that power," Patamon shifted uncomfortably in Joshua's arms he spoke. "If you wanted to you could delete me and have Labramon absorb my data. I couldn't stop you,"

"NO!" shouted Labramon.

Joshua and Patamon glanced in front of them to see an indignant Labramon staring back at them.

"I won't do it! Even if it makes me stronger I won't destroy Patamon! He's our friend, right Josh?"

For once he could completely agree with his partner. "I know personally what it's like to be the little guy on the receiving end and having no one around to back you up. There's no way I'd take advantage of someone like that whether they're weak or strong.

"And when we get back to the village you can meet all our other friends! Lunamon could give you a home and food!" Labramon added.

"Hey," Joshua began as an idea came to him. "You know Selena is still looking for a partner. I'd bet she'd be ecstatic if she could have a digimon like you with her!"

Patamon's eyes widened in shock at the offer. "I…" he hesitated for a moment then looked at the ground as if he could find the right answer somewhere among the long, sharp blades of grass.

"I couldn't…I'm not…,"

"If you think you have to be special or something to get picked don't worry about it. Labramon and I just kind of found each other. Besides we're not really in a position to refuse anyone's help".

Patamon's large, soulful eyes swelled with tears as the words of these two complete strangers had stung his heart. He shut his eyes tightly and at once tried to wriggle free from Joshua's arms.

"Patamon what's wrong? What are you doing?" Joshua let Patamon out of his arms and put him on the ground. For some reason the little bat-winged hamster just couldn't stand being carried anymore.

"You…you should go," Patamon said while choking back tears. "Leave me alone!"

"Why? What's wrong?" asked Labramon now worried about the little digimon's sudden change in behavior.

"Leave? And what are you gonna do out here alone when you're still hurt?" Joshua was just as surprised. "What's got into you all of sudden?"

Patamon lowered his ears like a frightened puppy and backed away from the pair into the shadow of a nearby tree.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out. "I'm not hurt and I haven't been since Labramon healed back when we first met! I can't do this anymore! Please leave before-

"How disappointing my dear friend,"

At the sound of the low humming voice emanating from the trees, all three travelers looked toward the forest canopy to find where it had come from.

"Who…?" Joshua's question was cut short as he suddenly felt a strong arm wrap around his neck and his feet leaving the ground.

"Josh!" shouted Labramon as a green-robed humanoid figure with a strange, blue face and a red cape appeared with his partner in his arm.

"I would have liked to see more of the heralds back at this "village" of yours but now that you have lost heart I must find a new way to bring them to The Grove. So tiresome," said the interloper.

"No! Baromon let him go! Please!" Patamon pleaded. "They aren't the ones we're looking for !"

"Have your eyes betrayed you as well as your heart?" asked the caped-figure. "How often do heralds drop into our midst?"

"Let him go!" growled Labramon as the fur on his back stood on end in rage and his fangs threatened to tear the intruder to pieces.

"I see the retainer knows his position well despite his unfortunate lack of power," Baromon stated critically. In his arms Joshua struggled to free himself from the robed digimon but no matter how he moved it was if a python had wrapped itself around his neck, he had no hope of escaping of it. "Damn it! Let go!"

"Here, allow me to ease your suffering," at those words Baromon raised his right hand and laid them over Joshua's eyes.

"No! What are you doing? Get away… from me," suddenly a wave of fatigue washed the trapped boy's resistance away and he felt his control over his body slipping. "No…Labramon…help".

His body's protests grew weaker with every passing moment until they finally ceased as his body fell limp.

"JOSH!" Labramon leaped toward Baromon in a panic but the masked specter quickly drew his arm away and revealed the unconscious form of his partner still helpless in his clutches.

"Need I remind this one of his sacred imperative Patamon?" Baromon stated with an even yet still clearly threatening tone.

"Labramon don't!" shouted Patamon. "He could still hurt Josh like that!"

The eager digimon suddenly grew very frightened. He knew he'd never be able to attack Baromon without hitting Josh too and without his digivice he couldn't vary his attacks. So what choice did he have?

Knowing he was beaten he sat back on his haunches and looked up pleadingly into Baromon's unmoving mask of a face.

"Please, let my friend go," Labramon begged. "He hasn't done anything wrong, just let him go and we'll leave. I promise!"

Baromon stared coldly into the honest eyes of the creature in front of him before stabilizing his grip on Joshua. His feet began to slowly lift themselves off the ground, making Labramon seem ever smaller in his eyes.

"One does not hope to challenge me alone. This herald you call Joshua has a far grander destiny than one such as you can offer. We will depart to The Grove unmolested and begin preparations for the New World. That is the future!" With those words the enigmatic figure faded away as if he were somehow being erased from view.

Labramon said nothing as he found himself completely helpless.

Patamon watched the scene with guilt growing stronger in his heart. He wondered for a moment whether it'd be better to just run away and leave this whole mess. For some reason Baromon hadn't bothered to attack which meant he could easily slip away.

He looked over to Labramon. The poor thing hadn't moved since Baromon's departure and it looked like he would never move another inch again. Was that human really so important to him?

"Labramon, we have to go," said Patamon. "We have to go back to the village remember?" He hoped hearing about his home would lift his spirits if only slightly.

Labramon turned toward Patamon slowly. "The village?" he repeated slowly. Suddenly his eyes lit up as an idea struck. "The others!"

He jumped back to his feet and took off in a run. "The others will help us! Come on Patamon!"

"Wait I…" Patamon tried to say but Labramon was already rapidly outpacing him. He hadn't expected him to rebound from the loss of his human so quickly. Still, seeing his new friend so lost even for a moment had stirred a vicious accusation from his own conscience, one that demanded he set things right.

"I'm sorry," he said mostly to himself as he bounded off after his new friend.


End file.
